Acquisition device
The hardware used to acquire biometric samples. The following acquisition devices are associated with each biometric technology.

Active imposter acceptance
Acceptance of a biometric sample submitted by someone attempting to gain illegal entry to a biometric system.

AFIS
"Automated Fingerprint Identification System. A system originally developed for use by law enforcement agencies, which compares a single fingerprint with a database of fingerprint images. Subsequent developments have seen its use in commercial applications, where a client or customer has their finger image compared with existing personal data by placing a finger on a scanner, or by the scanning of inked paper impressions."

Alogrithm
"Method of calculation for fingerprint characteristics, a sequence of instructions that tells a system how to solve a problem. Used by biometric systems, for example, to tell whether a sample and a template are a match. Cryptographic algorithms are used to encrypt sensitive data files, to encrypt and decrypt messages, and to digitally sign documents."

ANSI
American National Standards Institute

API
Application Program Interface. A computer code which is a set of instructions or services used to standardize an application. Any system compatible with the API can then be added or interchanged by the application developer.

Application Developer
An individual entrusted with developing and implementing a biometric application.

ASIC
"Application Specific Integrated Circuit. A silicon chip designed and built with a specific purpose, such as operating a fingerprint sensor and matching algorithm. An integrated circuit developed for specific applications to improve performance."

Asynchronous Multimodality
"Systems that require that a user verify through more than one biometric in sequence. Asynchronous multimodal solutions are comprised of one, two, or three distinct authentication processes. A typical user interaction will consist of a verification on finger scan, then face if finger is successful."

Attempt
The submission of a biometric sample to a biometric system for identification or verification. A biometric system may allow more than one attempt to identify or verify.

Audit trail
"In computer/network systems: Record of events (protocols, written documents, and other evidence) which can be used to trace the activities and usage of a system. Such material is crucial when tracking down successful attacks/attackers, determining how the attacks happened, and being able to use this evidence in a court of law."

Authentication
"The process of establishing the validity of the user attempting to gain access to a system. Primary authentication methods are: Access passwords: (something the user knows)
* Access takens: (something the user owns)
* Biometrics
* Geography: (a workstation, for example)
* Access passwords: (something the user knows)"

Authentication
"The process of comparing a submitted biometric sample against the biometric reference template of a single enrolee whose identity is being claimed, to determine whether it matches the enrolee's template. Contrast with 'Identification'. The preferred biometric term is 'Verification'."

Auto-correlation
"A proprietary fingerscanning technique. Two identical finger images are overlaid in the auto-correlation process, so that light and dark areas, known as Moir?fringes, are created."

Automatic ID/Auto ID
An umbrella term for any biometric system or other security technology that uses automatic means to check identity. This applies to both one-to-one verification and one-to-many identification.

BAPI Device Module (BDM)
This is essentially a device driver provided by the device manufacturer that maps a particular device¡¦s capabilities into the functionality provided by BAPI and defined by BDMI.

BAPI Device Module Interface (BDMI)
"This is the interface between BAPI and the physical biometric device. The device manufacturer provides a BDM, which is an instance of BDMI, to support BAPI on a given operating platform for their device."

BAPI Glossary
The following is an alphabetical glossary of terms used in relation to the Biometric Application Programming Interface (BAPI):

Behavioural Biometric
A biometric which is characterised by a behavioural trait that is learnt and acquired over time rather than a physiological characteristic.

Bifurcation
A branch made by more than one finger image ridge.

Binning
"A specialised technique used by some AFIS vendors. Binning is the process of classifying finger images according to finger image patterns. This predominantly takes place in law enforcement applications. Here finger images are categorised by characteristics such as arches, loops and whorls and held in smaller, separate databases (or bins) according to their category. Searches can be made against particular bins, thus speeding up the response time and accuracy of the AFIS search."

BioAPI
Emerging international standard for interfacing any biometric technologies to network applications. Applications Programming Interface.

BioAPI V1.0
"Developed by the BioAPI consortium, and released in March 2000. Designed to produce a standard biometric API aiding developers and consumers."

Biometric
"A measurable, physical characteristic or personal behavioural trait used to recognise the identity, or verify the claimed identity, of an enrolee."

Biometric (adjective)
Of or pertaining to technologies that utilize behavioral or physiological characteristics to determine or verify identity. EG: "Do you plan to use biometric identification or older types of identification?"

Biometric Application
The use to which a biometric system is put. See also 'Application Developer'.

Biometric Application Programming Interface (BAPI)
This is an API that allows the programmer to develop applications for a broad range of virtual biometric devices (VBDs) without knowing the specific capabilities of the device. The API is comprised of three distinct levels of functionality from high device abstraction to low (device specific) abstraction.

Biometric Data
The extracted information taken from the biometric sample and used either to build a reference template or to compare against a previously created reference template.

Biometric device
"A physical device that is typically attached to a microcomputer (in our paradigm) that can obtain and process distinctive human characteristic data such as fingerprint scanners, retina pattern analyzers, voice analyzers, etc."

Biometric element
The physical portion of a biometric device that is used to actively or passively acquire biometrics data from a biometrics sampling source.

Biometric Engine
"The software element of the biometric system which processes biometric data during the stages of enrolment and capture, extraction, comparison and matching."

Biometric Identification Device
The preferred term is 'Biometric System'.

Biometric sample
"The identifiable, unprocessed image or recording of a physiological or behavioral characteristic, acquired during submission, used to generate biometric templates. Also referred to as biometric data."

Biometric sample/data
"The information obtained from a biometric device that contains the encoded information that is the distinctive human characteristic data such as a finger print, retina pattern, voice prints, etc."

Biometric sampling source
"The target entity for which the biometric device is designed to sample, scan, read, etc."

Biometric system
The integrated biometric hardware and software used to conduct biometric identification or verification. An automated system capable of: 1. capturing a biometric sample from an end user; 2. extracting biometric data from that sample; 3. comparing the biometric data with that contained in one or more reference templates; 4. deciding how well they match; 5. indicating whether or not an identification or verification of identity has been achieved.

Biometric Taxonomy
"A method of classifying biometrics. For example, San Jose State University's (SJSU) biometric taxonomy uses partitions to classify the role of biometrics within a given biometric application. Thus an application may be classified as: Cooperative vs. Non-Cooperative User, Overt vs. Covert Biometric System, Supervised vs. Unsupervised User, Standard Environment vs. Non Standard Environment"

Biometric Technology
A classification of a biometric system by the type of biometric.

Biometric(noun)
"One of various technologies that utilize behavioral or physiological characteristics to determine or verify identity. "Finger-scan is a commonly used biometric." Plural form also acceptable: "Retina-scan and iris-scan are eye-based biometrics."""

Biometry
Methods where human characteristics are read and matched automatically.

Body Odour
A physical biometric that analyses the unique chemical pattern made up by human body smell.

Booking
"The process of capturing inked finger images on paper, for subsequent processing by an AFIS."

Buffer overflow
"Most common cause of current security vulnerabilities. A buffer overflow occurs when more data is put into a temporary data storage area (buffer) than the buffer can hold. Because buffers can only hold a finite amount of data, the extra information can overflow into adjacent buffers, corrupting or overwriting the data in them. Programming errors are the one of the most frequent causes of buffer overflow problems. In attacks which exploit buffer vulnerabilities, extra data is sent to the buffer with code designed to trigger specific actions, and which can damage files, change data, or disclose confidential information. Buffer overflow attacks may have arisen from poor use of the C programming language."

Capacitance
"Capacitance is the ability to hold an electrical charge. On the surface of capacitive sensors extremely weak electrical charges are created, building a pattern between the finger's ridges or valleys and the sensor's plates."

Capture
The method of taking a biometric sample from the end user.

Certification
The process of testing a biometric system to ensure that it meets certain performance criteria. Systems that meet the testing criteria are said to have passed and are certified by the testing organisation.

Channel
"A channel is the method by which a component processes data, whether that process is creation, transformation or comparison. Each component type is expected to contain one or more standard channels. In addition, any number of extended channels may be defined in order to fully enumerate the capabilities of a particular biometrics device."

Claim of Identity
When a biometric sample is submitted to a biometric system to verify a claimed identity.

Claimant
A person submitting a biometric sample for verification or identification whilst claiming a legitimate or false identity.

Closed-Set Identification
When an unidentified end-user is known to be enrolled in the biometric system. Opposite of 'Open-Set Identification'.

Comparison
The process of comparing a biometric sample with a previously stored reference template or templates. See also 'One-To-Many' and 'One-To-One'.

Comparison data
This is the data sampled from a biometric sampling source and is typically used for comparison to stored template data.

Component
"A component is essentially a logical classification of one particular step in the biometrics authentication/identification process. There are five categories of components: Samplers, Filters, Engines, Storage, and OEM defined components."

Contact/Contactless
In regard to chip cards: whether the card is read by direct contact with a reader or has a transmitter/receiver system which allows it to be read using radio frequency technology (up to a certain distance).

Control "Controls can affect the way
data is processed by the channels, or supply BAPI functions with important information regarding a channel's and/or device's status."

Crossover error rate(CER)
"Acomparison metric for different biometric devices and technologies; the error rate at which FAR equals FRR. The lower the CER, the more accurate and reliable the biometric device."

Crossover Rate
Synonym for 'Equal Error Rate'.

D Prime
"A statistical measure of how well a biometric system can discriminate between different individuals. The larger the D Prime value, the better a biometric system is at discriminating between individuals."

DAD
Distinct Area Detection. Algorithm developed by FPC and based on the extraction of unique features (Distinct Areas) in the fingerprint as defined by FPC. The image is in 3D and greyscale.

Data vaulting
"The process of sending data off site, where it can be protected from hardware failures, theft, and other threats. Several companies now offer Web backup services that compress, encrypt, and periodically transmit a customer's data to a remote vault. In most cases, the vaults have auxiliary power supplies, powerful computers, and manned security. Also referred to as a remote backup service (RBS)."

Decision
"The result of the comparison between the score and the threshold. The decisions a biometric system can make include match, non-match, and inconclusive, although varying degrees of strong matches and non-matches are possible.Either/or multimodality describes systems that offer multiple biometric technologies, but only require verification through a single technology."

Degrees of Freedom
The number of statistically independent features in biometric data.

Digital certificate
"In the PKI environment, the data, equivalent to an identity card, issued to a user by a CA (Certificate authority), which he/she uses during business transactions to prove his/her identity."

Digital signature
"The number derived by performing cryptographic operations on the text to be signed. This operation, or hash function (also called hash algorithm), is performed on the binary code of the text. The result is known as the message digest, and always has a fixed length. A signature algorithm is applied to the message digest, resulting in the digital signature."

Discriminant Training
A means of refining the extraction algorithm so that biometric data from different individuals are as distinct as possible.

DNA
"DNA is a unique, measurable human characteristic. However, current DNA technology is not automatic and cannot currently rank alongside other biometric technologies."

DPI (Dots Per Inch)
A measurement of resolution for finger image biometrics.

DSA
"Digital Signature Algorithm. Presented in 1991 by the NIST and patented in 1993. A publicly available one-way algorithm used to generate or verify digital signatures of a text to be signed (not to encrypt/decrypt information). As input, DSA needs. 1. The message digest of the message to be signed
2. The signer's private key
3. A random number
Its output is a pair of numbers (often referred to as r and s) which together, make up the digital signature.To verify a digital signature, DSA needs as input
1. The message digest of the text to be verified
2. The signer's public key
3. The value s from the signature
DSA then makes a computation, the output of which is called v, for example. If v = r, then the signature verifies."

DSS
Digital Signature Standard. Developed by FIPS (U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard). Adopted the DSA in the early 1990s.

DSV (Dynamic Signature Verification)
Synonym for 'Signature Verification'.

Ear Shape
"A lesser-known physical biometric that is characterised by the shape of the outer ear, lobes and bone structure."

Eigenface
A method of representing a human face as a linear deviation from a mean or average face.

Eigenhead
The three dimensional version of Eigenface that also analyses the shape of the head.

Embedded System
"A biometric system where all the biometric processes (capture, feature extraction, matching) are built to operate within a single host device. This could be as small as a smart card or as large as a door access control system. No PC is involved in the system."

Encryption
" The scrambling of data so that it becomes difficult to unscramble or decipher. Scrambled data is called ciphertext, as opposed to unscrambled data, which is called plaintext. Unscrambling ciphertext is called decryption. Data encryption is done by the use of an algorithm and a key. The key is used by the algorithm to scramble and unscramble the data. The algorithm can be public (for scrutinization and analysis by the cryptographic community), but the key must be kept private. Encryption does not make unauthorized decryption impossible, but merely difficult. Time, and the power (ever increasing) of computers are the factors involved in the feasibility of decryption."

End User
A person who interacts with a biometric system to enrol or have his/her identity checked.

End User Adaptation
The process of adjustment whereby a participant in a test becomes familiar with what is required and alters their responses accordingly.

Engine component
An engine component provides the processing functionality in order to verify or identify an individual. An ENGINE component drives a particular process.

Enrolee
A person who has a biometric reference template on file.

Enrollment
The procedure where an individual's biometric is captured for the first time and stored as a reference for future matching in some part of a biometric system. The initial process of collecting biometric data from a user and then storing it in a template for later comparison.

Enrolment Time
The time period a person must spend to have his/her biometric reference template successfully created.

Equal Error Rate
When the decision threshold of a system is set so that the proportion of false rejections will be approximately equal to the proportion of false acceptances. A synonym is 'Crossover Rate'.

ESD
Electrostatic Discharge or 'static' electricity.

Event
"An event is the occurrence of an incident such as a mouse click, key press, etc."

Event driven
"Indicates that a process is controlled and/or communicates using events. These events are used as signals to inform any or all processes of thread, hardware, or software status and other information that is needed by a process to continue, pause, or terminate execution, etc."

Extraction
The process of converting a captured biometric sample into biometric data so that it can be compared to a reference template.

Face Monitoring
A biometric application of face recognition technology where the biometric system monitors the attendance of an end user at a desktop.

Face Recognition
A physical biometric that analyses facial features.

Facial Thermogram
A specialised face recognition technique that senses heat in the face caused by the flow of blood under the skin.

Failure to Acquire
Failure of a biometric system to capture and extract biometric data.

Failure to Acquire Rate
The frequency of a failure to acquire.

Failure to Enrol Rate (FER)
A statistical measurement of the inability of a system to enrol a template of sufficient quality to provide for subsequent verification.

False Acceptance
When a biometric system incorrectly identifies an individual or incorrectly verifies an impostor against a claimed identity. Also known as a Type II error.

False Acceptance Rate/FAR
"The probability that a biometric system will incorrectly identify an individual or will fail to reject an impostor. Also known as the Type II error rate. It is stated as follows: FAR = NFA / NIIA, or FAR = NFA / NIVA, where FAR is the false acceptance rate, NFA is the number of false acceptances, NIIA is the number of impostor identification attemptd, NEVA is the number of enrolee verification attempts"

False Match Rate
"Alternative to 'False Acceptance Rate'. Used to avoid confusion in applications that reject the claimant if their biometric data matches that of an enrolee. In such applications, the concepts of acceptance and rejection are reversed, thus reversing the meaning of 'False Acceptance' and 'False Rejection'. See also 'False Non-Match Rate'."

False Non-Match Rate
"Alternative to 'False Rejection Rate'. Used to avoid confusion in applications that reject the claimant if their biometric data matches that of an enrolee. In such applications, the concepts of acceptance and rejection are reversed, thus reversing the meaning of 'False Acceptance' and 'False Rejection'. See also 'False Match Rate'."

False Rejection
When a biometric system fails to identify an enrolee or fails to verify the legitimate claimed identity of an enrolee. Also known as a Type I error.

False Rejection Rate/FRR
"The probability that a biometric system will fail to identify an enrolee, or verify the legitimate claimed identity of an enrolee. Also known as a Type I error rate. It is stated as follows: FRR = NFR / NEIA or FRR = NFR / NEVA, where FRR is the false rejection rate, NFR is the number of false rejections, NEIA is the number of enrolee identification attempts, NEVA is the number of enrolee verification attempts "
Feature extraction
The automated process of locating and encoding distinctive characteristics from a biometric sample in order to generate a template.

Field Test
A trial of a biometric application in 'real world' as opposed to laboratory conditions.

Filter component
This component functions to reduce or optimize raw biometric data to be later be used in comparison and/or verification functions.

Filtering
"A specialised technique used by some AFIS vendors. Filtering is the process of classifying finger images according to data which is unrelated to the finger image itself. This may involve filtering by sex, age, hair colour or other distinguishing factors."

Finger Geometry
A physical biometric that analyses the shape and dimensions of one or more fingers.

Finger Image
A physical biometric which looks at the patterns found in the tip of the finger.

Fingerprint/Fingerprinting
The preferred terms are now 'Finger Image' and 'Fingerscanning'.

Fingerscanning
The process of finger image capture.

Fixed-Text System
The preferred term is 'Text-Dependent System'.

Free-Text System.
The preferred term is 'Text-Independent System'.

Genetic Penetrance
The degree to which characteristics are passed from generation to generation.

Goats
"Biometric system end users whose pattern of activity when interfacing with the system varies beyond the specified range allowed by the system, and who consequently may be falsely rejected by the system."

Hand Geometry/Hand Recognition
A physical biometric that involves analysing and measuring the shape of the hand.

Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
This is the logical portion of a system that separates the OS from the modules of the system that make use of any OS provided functionality.

High Level BAPI (HBAPI; Level 3)
"High level BAPI is intended for use in writing applications that are expected to utilize an arbitrarily selected BAPI compliant physical biometric device. At this level, the applications programmer must use the standard VBD programming model."

Identification
"When you identify a fingerprint against a database with several stored templates. It is also called?on-to-few, one-to-many or one-to-n situations. The process by which the biometric system identifies a person by performing a one-to-many (1:n) search against the entire enrolled population. Identification (1:N, one-to-many, recognition) ¡V The process of determining a person¡¦s identity by performing matches against multiple biometric templates. Identification systems are designed to determine identity based solely on biometric information. There are two types of identification systems: positive identification and negative identification. Positive identification systems are designed to find a match for a user¡¦s biometric information in a database of biometric information."

Identification/Identify
"The one-to-many process of comparing a submitted biometric sample against all of the biometric reference templates on file to determine whether it matches any of the templates and, if so, the identity of the enrolee whose template was matched. The biometric system using the one-to-many approach is seeking to find an identity amongst a database rather than verify a claimed identity. Contrast with 'Verification'."

Identify
"This is a one-to-many comparison of sampled comparison data to the template data stored in a template database. In this case, it is not necessary for the user to identify himself to the system before beginning the identification process. Identification is often slower than verification (because of the need to search a large database), and many biometric systems cannot perform this function. This can be the same as verify, but may often have an optimized and separate processing mechanism associated with it on a biometric device."

Impostor
A person who submits a biometric sample in either an intentional or inadvertent attempt to pass him/herself off as another person who is an enrolee.

In-House Test
A test carried out entirely within the environs of the biometric developer which may or may not involve external user participation.

Iris Features
"A number of features can be found in the iris. These are named corona, crypts, filaments, freckles, pits, radial furrows and striations."

Iris Recognition
"A physical biometric that analyses iris features, found in the coloured ring of tissue that surrounds the pupil."

IrisCode
The biometric data that is generated for each live iris presented. The code is a mathematical representation of the features of the iris. See also 'Biometric Data'.

Keystroke Dynamics
A behavioural biometric under development that analyses typing rhythm when an end user types onto a keyboard.

Latent
An impression of a finger image collected from a crime scene.

Live Capture
The process of capturing a biometric sample by an interaction between an end user and a biometric system.

Live Scan
The term live scan is typically used in conjunction with finger image technology. Synonym for 'Live Capture'. See Part I General Biometric Terms.

Low Level BAPI (LBAPI; Level 1)
The lowest level of BAPI allows the applications programmer to utilize the special features of a biometric device from a known manufacturer. This level allows for complete control of a specific biometric device.

Match/Matching
The process of comparing a biometric sample against a previously stored template and scoring the level of similarity. An accept or reject decision is then based upon whether this score exceeds the given threshold.

Matching
"The comparison of biometric templates to determine their degree of similarity or correlation. A match attempt results in a score that, in most systems, is compared against a threshold. If the score exceeds the threshold, the result is a match; if the score falls below the threshold, the result is a non-match."

Match-On-Card
"The fingerprint verification process where capture and feature extraction for the fingerprint are handled outside the smart card, but the final matching decision is made inside the card's secure area."

Middle Level BAPI (MBAPI; Level 2)
The mid level of BAPI is used when the programmer knows the categorical type of biometric device that will be used. This level is best used when the category is known but the physical device is still arbitrary.

Minutae Points
Local ridge characteristics that occur at either a ridge bifurcation or a ridge ending.

Minutiae
Small details found in finger images such as ridge endings or bifurcations.

Multithreaded
Denotes the capability to execute multiple executables or portions of an executable simultaneously. BAPI is multithreaded and supports multithreaded BAPI applications by ensuring that each application executes within its own execution context within BAPI. BAPI manages this context as well as resource and device access and contention.

One-To-Many
Synonym for 'Identification'.

One-To-One
Synonym for 'Verification'.

On-The-Fly
Where calculations for a receiving process (such as fingerprint matching) are carried out simultaneously with a corresponding supply process (capture of the fingerprint as it is swiped over the sensor). The overall process of fingerprint verification is therefore optimised for speed.

Open-Set Identification
"Identification, when it is possible that the individual is not enrolled in the biometric system. Opposite of 'Closed-Set Identification'."

Optical
"A finger image capture technique that uses a light source, a prism and a platen to capture finger images."

Optical Sensor
A 'Camera' approach based on the detection of light from the finger surface.

Out Of Set
"In open-set identification, when the individual is not enrolled in the biometric system."

Palm
A physical biometric that analyses the palm of the hand. Typically this will involve an analysis of minutiae data.

Passive Impostor Acceptance
When an impostor submits his/her own biometric sample and claiming the identity of another person (either intentionally or inadvertently) he/she is incorrectly identified or verified by a biometric system. Compare with 'Active Impostor Acceptance'.

Performance Criteria
Pre-determined criteria established to evaluate the performance of the biometric system under test.

Personal Rejection Rate (PRR)
A measurement used by FPC to give statistical significance to individuals who experience persistent problem in using a system owing to a combination of factors including FTE and FRR. This measurement reflects primarily physiological problems in the use of a biometric.

Physical/Physiological Biometric
"A biometric which is characterised by a physical characteristic rather than a behavioural trait. See Part III Terms Related to Specific Biometric Techniques for 'Body Odour', 'Ear Shape', 'Face Recognition', 'Finger Geometry', 'Finger Image', 'Hand Geometry', 'Iris Recognition', 'Palm', 'Retina', 'Speaker Verification' and 'Veincheck'. Contrast with 'Behavioural Biometric'."

Platen
The surface on which a finger is placed during optical finger image capture.

Privacy-Invasive
A privacy-invasive system facilitates or enables the usage of personal data in a fashion inconsistent with generally accepted privacy principles.

Privacy-Neutral
"A privacy-neutral system is one in which privacy is not an issue, or in which the potential privacy impact is slight. Privacy-neutral systems are difficult to misuse from a privacy perspective, but do not have the capability to protect personal privacy."

Privacy-Protective
"A privacy-protective system is one used to protect or limit access to personal information, or which provide a means for an individual to establish a trusted identity.?"

Privacy-Sympthetic
"A privacy-sympathetic system is one that limits access to and usage of personal data and in which decisions regarding design issues such as storage and transmission of biometric data are informed, if not driven, by privacy concerns.?"

Profile data
General information regarding an individual that can be stored in the user's database within VBD.

Raw data
"This is the initial biometric data obtained from a sampling source before any reduction, processing, or optimizing occurs."

Receiver Operating Curves
A graph showing how the false rejection rate and false acceptance rate vary according to the threshold.

Recognition
The preferred term is 'Identification'.

Response Time
The time period required by a biometric system to return a decision on identification or verification of a biometric sample.

Retina
A physical biometric that analyses the layer of blood vessels situated at the back of the eye.

Ridge
The raised markings found across the fingertip. See also 'Valley'.

Ridge Ending
The point at which a finger image ridge ends.

Sampling
The act of acquiring biometric data from a sampling source.

Score
"A number indicating the degree of similarity or correlation of a biometric match. Traditional authentication methods ¡V passwords, PINs, keys, and tokens - are binary, offering only a strict yes/no response. This is not the case with most biometric systems. Nearly all biometric systems are based on matching algorithms that generate a score subsequent to a match attempt. This score represents the degree of correlation between the verification template and the enrollment template. There is no standard scale used for biometric scoring: for some vendors a scale of 1-100 might be used, others might use a scale of ¡V1 to 1; some vendors may use a logarithmic scale and others a linear scale. Regardless of the scale employed, this verification score is compared to the system¡¦s threshold to determine how successful a verification attempt has been.?"

Sensor
The mechanism on a biometric device for checking the presence of a biometric sampling source ready to be sampled.

Signature Verification
"A behavioural biometric that analyses the way an end user signs his/her name. The signing features such as speed, velocity and pressure exerted by a hand holding a pen are as important as the static shape of the finished signature."

Single Error Rates
"Error rates state the likelihood of an error (false match, false non-match, or failure to enroll) for a single comparison of two biometric templates or for a single enrollment attempt. This can be thought of as a ""single"" error rate."

Smart Card
A plastic card complying with ISO standards specifications and having a microprocessor chip embedded inside the card.

Speaker Separation
A technology that separates overlapping voices from each other and other background noises.

Speaker verification
"A part physical, part behavioural biometric that analyses patterns in speech."

Speaker-Dependent
A term sometimes used by speaker verification vendors to emphasise the fact their technology is designed to distinguish among voices.

Speech Recognition
This is not a biometric and should not be confused with speaker verification. Speech recognition involves recognising words as they are spoken and does not identify the speaker.

S-Process
This is the process of sampling biometric data from a biometric sampling source so that it can be reduced into template data and then used directly for comparison functionality.

Status report
The means by which a biometric device can report its operational status. LED¡¦s and LCD displays on the physical devices are examples of status indicators.

S-template
"Functionally equivalent to ""comparison data"" (described above). Stands for comparison ""sample ¡V template."""

Storage component
Storage components provide access to nonvolatile memory areas within the VBD model.

Submission
"The process whereby a user provides behavioral or physiological data in the form of biometric samples to a biometric system. A submission may require looking in the direction of a camera or placing a finger on a platen. Depending on the biometric system, a user may have to remove eyeglasses, remain still for a number of seconds, or recite a pass phrase in order to provide a biometric sample.?"

SVAPI
(Speaker Verification Application Program Interface) A biometric API for speaker verification systems.

Synchronous multimodality
"The use of multiple biometric technologies in a single authentication process. For example, biometric systems exist which use face and voice simultaneously, reducing the likelihood of fraud and reducing the time needed to verify. "

System-On-card
"System where the complete fingerprint verification process is embedded in a smart card, with no external support."

Template
Biometric reference data produced by an enrolment. a mathematical representation of biometric data. A template can vary in size from 9 bytes for hand geometry to several thousand bytes for facial recognition.

Template data
"This is the result of reducing or optimizing the raw data obtained during a sampling process (T¡VProcess) for use in identifying or verifying an individual. In most cases, the idea behind a template is to reduce the size of the raw data into the smallest size possible while still retaining the data¡¦s inherent uniqueness."

Text-Dependent System
A system that requires a speaker to say a specific set of numbers or words.

Text-Independent System
A system that creates voiceprints from unconstrained speech and does not require a speaker to say a specific set of numbers or words.

Text-Prompted System
A speaker verification system that prompts the speaker to say randomly ordered numbers or words. The term 'Challenge-Response' is also used in a similar way to define text prompting.

Thermal
A finger image capture technique that uses a sensor to sense heat from the finger and thus capture a finger image pattern.

Third Party Test
"An objective test, independent of a biometric vendor, usually carried out entirely within a test laboratory in controlled environmental conditions."

Threshold
"A predefined number, often controlled by a biometric system administrator, which establishes the degree of correlation necessary for a comparison to be deemed a match."

Threshold/Decision Threshold
"The acceptance or rejection of biometric data is dependent on the match score falling above or below the threshold. The threshold is adjustable so that the biometric system can be more or less strict, depending on the requirements of any given biometric application."

Throughput Rate
The number of end users that a biometric system can process within a stated time interval.

Time & Attendance
"A type of application where working time and/or payroll calculations are based upon automated 'clocking' by workers, traditionally using cards."

T-Process
This is the process of obtaining biometric data from a biometric sampling source so that it can be reduced into template data and then typically stored for use in future comparison functions.

T-template
"Functionally equivalent to ""template data"" (described below). Stands for comparison ""target ¡V template."""

Type I Error
See 'False Rejection'.

Type II Error
See 'False Acceptance'.

Ultrasound
A technique for finger image capture that uses acoustic waves to measure the density of a finger image pattern.

User
The client to any biometric vendor. The user must be differentiated from the end user and is responsible for managing and implementing the biometric application rather than actually interacting with the biometric system.

User record
A database or record containing information about an individual and their template and or profile data.

Users Database
A database of USER records internally maintained by the VBD.

Validation
The process of demonstrating that the system under consideration meets in all respects the specification of that system.

Valley
The corresponding marks found on either side of a finger image ridge.

Veincheck/Vein Tree
A physical biometric under development that analyses the pattern of veins in the back of the hand.

Verification
When you verify in on-to-one situations

"Verification(1:1,matching, authentication)"
"The process of establishing the validity of a claimed identity by comparing a verification template to an enrollment template. Verification requires that an identity be claimed,after which the individual¡¦s enrollment template is located and compared with the verification template. Verification answers the question, ¡§Am I who I claim to be?¡¨ Some verification systems perform very limited searches against multiple enrollee records. For example, a user with three enrolled finger-scan templates may be able to place any of the three fingers to verify, and the system performs 1:1 matches against the user¡¦s enrolled templates until a match is found. One-to-few. There is a middle ground between identification and verification referred to as one-to-few (1:few). This type of application involves identification of a user from a very small database of enrollees. While there is no exact number that differentiates a 1:N from a 1:few system, any system involving a search of more than 500 records is likely to be classified as 1:N. A typical use of a 1:few system would be access control to sensitive rooms at a 50-employee company, where users place their finger on a device and are located from a small database.?"

Verification/Verify
"The process of comparing a submitted biometric sample against the biometric reference template of a single enrolee whose identity is being claimed, to determine whether it matches the enrolee's template. Contrast with 'Identification'."

Verify
"This is a one-to-one comparison of stored template data to sampled comparison data. This can be the same as identify, but may often have an optimized and separate processing mechanism associated with it on a biometric device. The verification process simply certifies that the user is who he says he is."

Virtual Biometric Device (VBD)
"Provides an abstraction layer between the BAPI application and a physical biometric device which contains the common core functionality and components which are shared by all biometric devices. By targeting the VBD model, a BAPI programmer can write an application, which targets all BAPI compliant biometric devices."

Voice Print/Voiceprint
A representation of the acoustic information found in the voice of a speaker.

Voice Verification
The preferred term is 'Speaker Verification'.

Volatiles
The chemical breakdown of body odour.

Zero Effort Forgery
An arbitrary attack on a specific enrolee identity in which the impostor masquerades as the claimed enrolee using his or her own biometric sample.