Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
Biometrics in a data driven world : trends, technologies, and challenges
Mitra S., Gofman M., Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 2017. 426 pp. Type: Book (978-1-498737-64-7)
Date Reviewed: Oct 5 2017

Whereas the term “biometrics” in general refers to the use of computational methods applied to data from biological sciences, in this volume the assumed meaning is techniques for identifying people based on their body and behavioral traits. In other words, this book is about using facial data, fingerprints, voice, signature, and so on to identify, authenticate, and recognize individuals. It is a collective volume with authors mostly from California State University, Fullerton, and mostly from the computer science and engineering departments.

The area has been researched worldwide for a long time, and has in parallel always had strong interest from enterprises, start-ups, and government agencies, with the largest share of innovation found in a handful of international researchers and small companies, often absorbed by others.

The volume essentially incorporates 17 chapters distributed into two large sections, one with surveys (mobile devices, healthcare, social media, gaming, security, cloud computing) followed by one with case studies devoted to specific human traits (fingerprint, face, voice, iris, signature, hand, keystroke, gait). Some chapters are very short (like those on voice recognition, iris recognition, and so on), thus missing out on key necessary elements such as sensors, data acquisition, test conditions, learning data, deployment, and performance constraints. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) screeners are not addressed, although widely deployed.

In general, the discourse is very descriptive at the application level, almost ignoring design, calibration, electronics, identification/authentication/recognition algorithms, learning data acquisition, and the exact nature of the necessary features; this is in stark contrast to the articles found in established journals in this field (such as Pattern Recognition). The argument could be turned around by taking the view that the book is an introductory applications survey, necessary for understanding the complexities in specific identification/authentication and recognition tasks. If so, it is still missing introductions to essential aspects required for this understanding, such as reject rate (the percentage of the instances where the sensor or system cannot perform), features and feature extraction algorithms (only mentioned in Figure 1.2 and a view photograph), real-time feature database implementations, and basic performance indicators (the two-class case is only introduced on page 159).

Considering the issues in biometric identification/authentication/recognition, all significant research and products have exploited specific biological and medical properties of the body and their evolution over time and so on (aging, posture, vocal cord illnesses, and so on); this too would have been a useful addition to this introduction.

Each chapter has its own list of references, often very lengthy but often also missing key patents, key algorithms, and key products--for example, all the sensors and algorithms exploiting shape and geometrical features by morpho-mathematical approaches, spectral analysis, and so on. There is a common index.

This book, or selected chapters in it, may be of interest to a public wishing to be more aware of what lies behind the proliferating biometric devices. It may also help undergraduate students with small projects in the area.

Reviewer:  Prof. L.-F. Pau, CBS Review #: CR145575 (1712-0804)
Bookmark and Share
  Reviewer Selected
 
 
Security and Protection (K.6.5 )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Security and Protection": Date
CIRCAL and the representation of communication, concurrency, and time
Milne G. ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems 7(2): 270-298, 1985. Type: Article
Oct 1 1985
Computer security risk management
Palmer I., Potter G., Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, NY, 1989. Type: Book (9780442302900)
Apr 1 1991
Computers at risk
, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1991. Type: Book (9780309043885)
Oct 1 1991
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy