Vocabulary of Biometrics: Biometrics :It is a term that is used alternatively to describe a characteristic or a process. As

a characteristic it is the measure of a biological and behavioural biometric characteristic of an individual that can be used for automated recognition.

Recognition: A generic term that is used in the description of biometric systems pertaining to their one to many fundamental function. The term 'recognition' does not mean the verification.

Biometric Identity: A biometric identity is created when a biometric sample is used in the place of the name to identify an individual under consideration. The biometric identity may consist of results of one or more biometrics for the same particular individual.

Biometric Sample: It is a biological specimen or a representation of the biometric characteristics prior to when a biometric feature is extracted from.

Biometric Capture Device: It is a device that collects a signal from a biometric characteristic and converts them it to a captured biometric sample.

Biometric Capture Subsystem: It is a biometric capture device and the sub-processes that are required to execute a biometric capture process.

Speech Recognition: It’s a technology that enables a machine to recognize spoken words. Speaker Recognition: It’s a biometric modality that uses the biometric subject unique

speech, for the recognition purposes. Sometimes it is referred to as voice recognition but it different from it.

Gallery: It is the biometric system’s database, or set of known biometric subjects, that is used for a specific implementation experiment.

Automated Biometric Identification. System (ABIS) : The generic term that is used for any biometric identification system that is automated.

Automated Fingerprint Identification .System (AFIS) : It is a specialized biometric system that compares a given fingerprint record with a database of records, to determine the identity of any individual under consideration. AFIS is mainly used for law enforcement, and also being used for civil applications. AFIS has been succeeded by ABIS.

Biometric Capture Device: A device that collects a signal from in terms of a biometric characteristic and converts it into a captured biometric sample and stores.

Untethered Biometric System: Collection, analysis and usage of biometric sensors between deployed personnel outside of a robust command and control architecture.

True Acceptance. Rate (TAR): A statistic used to measure biometric performance during the verification task. The percentage of times a system is correctly able to accept a true claim of identification.

True Rejection .Rate (TRR) : A statistic that is used to measure biometric performance during the verification task. The percentage of times a system is correctly able to rejects a false claim of identity.

Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) This system provides an automated and latent search capability, electronic image storage, and also electronic exchange of fingerprints and responses.

Hand Geometry Recognition A biometric modality which uses the physical structure of a biometric subject's hand for recognition purposes.

Threshold: A setting for biometric systems which is operating in the verification or open-set identification tasks. The acceptance or rejection of biometric data depends on the match score been falling above or below the threshold. The threshold is adjusted accordingly so

that the biometric system can be more accurate, depending on the requirements of any given biometric application.

Transaction: A group of records with information and biometric data pertaining to a particular individual that is transmitted and/or stored as a complete unit.

Tactical Collection Device (TCD): A portable system that is used to capture data that represent biometric characteristics of an individual. The system also provides the capability to collect, store, match, share, and manage biometric information and enable a decide/act capability.

Sensor: They refer to the hardware which is found on the biometric device that converts biometric input into a digital or analog signal and conveys this information to the processing device.

Liveness Detection: A technique used to ensure that biometric sample which is submitted is from a living biometric subject.

Segmentation: The process of parsing the biometric signal of interest that is from the entire acquired data system collected.

Palm Print Recognition A biometric modality that uses physical structure of the biometric subject's palm print for recognition purposes.

Closed-set Identification It’s a biometric task where an unidentified biometric subject is known to be in the database and the system attempts to determine their identity. Performance is measured in terms of the frequency with which the biometric subject appears in the top rank for the.

Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) It is both a program and a software tool is used by the FBI, distributed over three hierarchical levels – National, State and Local Index Systems – that enables state and local law enforcement crime laboratories to be able to exchange and compare the DNA profiles electronically.

Detainee Reporting System (DRS) It’s a system that is.designed to support the processing of prisoner’s and those who are detainees.

Face Recognition A biometric modality that uses imaging of the visible physical structure of a biometric subject's face for recognition purposes.

False Acceptance Rate (FAR) it’s a statistic which is used to measure biometric performance during the verification task. The percentage of times a system is able to produce a false acceptance that occurs when a biometric subject is incorrectly matched to another biometric subject’s existing biometric sample.

Iris Recognition A biometric modality that uses the image of the physical structure of a biometric subject's iris for recognition purposes.

Multimodal Biometric System A biometric system comprising of two or more of the modality components like biometric characteristic, sensor type or feature extraction algorithm.

Tactical Collection Device (TCD) A portable system that is used to capture data that represent biometric characteristics of an individual. The system provides capability to collect, store, match, share, and manage biometric information and enable a decide/act capability.

Economics of Biometrics:A person’s fingerprint is unique. This is where biometric authentication systems pitch in. With higher level of security than any other type of access system, biometric authentication system is need of the hour. With biometric authentication in place, it has become highly difficult to cheat the system.Biometric access control systems basically use handprint, fingerprint and/or iris scanning to allow people/employees to gain access to a building or to a restricted area. They are popular with the companies and organizations that deal with proprietary and highly sensitive kind of information. The higher level of security that biometric access control systems provide comes with a higher price. A single biometric access door can be worth as high as $12,000. But, if security is one of your main concerns, it is worth paying the extra buck to prove a person’s identity.As the price of biometric authentication system is heavily dependent on factors such as the size of the building/restricted area, level of staffing, etc., most dealers do a site visit before quoting a price for a biometric authentication control system.Generally, prices could range from as low as $5,000 to as high as $10,000 per door for an entire system consisting of a biometric scanner; a specialized and customized lock system and software installation and integration. However, the price of hardware alone like a fingerprint scanner would cost around $1,200 to $1,500. This is double the cost of a card reader.The usage of biometrics systems was originally restricted to large corporations and the government and it also cost them tens of thousands of dollars to put it in place. Due to its high price, small and medium businesses could not afford it. But due to the scaling down of prices, even small businesses and individuals now can afford these devices. This occurrence leads analysts to believe that the use of biometrics will spread over the next decade or so, and that the technology will become prevalent and widespread. Several developments had taken place in the recent past that assures that this technology is on the path of a bright future. Consider the digital signature legislation passed in the year 2000 which urges biometric authentication to be used instead of written signature. This has to be considered legally binding on documents. Moreover, Microsoft has also announced that its support for the biometric technology in the upcoming versions of Windows, making it easier to build Internet and network servers that would be able to accept the biometric identifications.Thus, biometric authentication method can be rightly said to be on the slope of enlightenment.

Challenges in Biometrics:

Biometric is an advanced technology but it still has some challenges.

1) Robustness – All the test on biometric system are done in a controlled environment. In real life application the surroundings of the technology plays a very important role in authenticating a person. The face recognition system is tested in a closed room with the right amount of light that is required for recognition. In real life there can be extra amount of light which may hinder the recognition process. The fingerprint scanner requires a clean finger which needs to be rightly placed in the scanner. The real time application would require a person to follow the guidelines otherwise it would be difficult to for the system to

scan the finger. The retina scanner scans the eye of the person but if the person is diabetic then the eye of that person gets affected which would result in failure in detection by the scanner.

2) Spoofing/Mimicry – The technology is not full proof. Spoofing of finger print can be done using high end technologies. High end technologies can be used to create duplicate fingerprint which can bypass the system. Also in voice recognition system an imitation of voice can be done to bypass the system.

3) Cost of using the technology – The cost of using the technology is very high. Facial scan technology and retinal scanner requires good quality image. The good quality image can only be taken through powerful camera, which requires high cost along with high maintenance cost. All the biometric technology requires high end IT technologies to recognise the person quickly. Apart from hardware and software cost, an organisation needs to bear cost related to new enrolment of the id and also the cost in training the employees.

4) Resistance to new technology – There can be resistance from users over the use to biometric technology. People believe that the use of username and password is far easier than the use of biometric technology.

Opportunities for Biometrics:

Biometric technology has huge potential for growth. It can be used at multiple locations and for multiple purpose. It can be used as airports, schools, hospitals, police stations, and private and government offices. Though this technology is widely used in developed countries, it is still to be used widely in developing countries. It is basically a security system and it can be used to enhance security. At airports it can be used to gain access and therefore you can easily avoid the queues where personal details are checked. In school it can be used to check attendance and also it would prevent unauthorised access to in the building. In medical industry, it can be used to map your health information. This can therefore be used to retrieve your past health condition data in a much faster and easier way. Doctors can easily map your health information which can be used in future. In police stations, it can be used to recognise the criminals. Detection and identification will be much easier when biometric technology is used. In government and private companies this technology can be used to restrict access to unauthorised people. Though this technology is already in use for this purpose, it can be used widely and extensively for more security.