Biometrii

Biometrii, or biometrics, is the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral characteristics for human identification and authentication. In a biometric system, a person is enrolled by capturing sample data that is converted into a mathematical representation (a template). The system can then verify a claimed identity (one-to-one) or identify an individual by comparing the template to a database of templates (one-to-many).

Common physiological modalities include fingerprint patterns, iris and retina structure, facial features, hand and palm geometry, and voice patterns. Behavioral modalities include keystroke dynamics, gait, signature dynamics, and other patterns of behavior. Many systems use multimodal approaches, combining multiple traits to improve accuracy and resilience.

Typical workflow involves capture, preprocessing, feature extraction, template creation, and storage of a protected reference, followed by matching against a presented sample. Performance is described by metrics such as false acceptance rate (FAR), false rejection rate (FRR), and equal error rate (EER). Security concerns include susceptibility to spoofing, which drives the use of liveness detection and anti-spoofing measures.

Applications range from consumer authentication on smartphones to border control, access control in enterprises, attendance tracking, and forensic identification. Privacy and legal issues focus on the handling of biometric data, consent, data minimization, and protection of templates through encryption and on-device processing, in line with data protection laws such as GDPR.

Challenges include sensor quality, population bias, inclusivity, and ongoing privacy concerns. The field continues to evolve with advances in sensors, privacy-preserving techniques, and multimodal systems.