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Multibiometric Systems: Overview, Case Studies, and Open Issues

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Handbook of Remote Biometrics

Part of the book series: Advances in Pattern Recognition ((ACVPR))

Abstract

Information fusion refers to the reconciliation of evidence presented by multiple sources of information in order to generate a decision. In the context of biometrics, evidence reconciliation plays a pivotal role in enhancing the recognition accuracy of human authentication systems and is referred to as multibiometrics. Multibiometric systems combine the information presented by multiple biometric sensors, algorithms, samples, units, or traits in order to establish the identity of an individual. Besides enhancing matching performance, these systems are expected to improve population coverage, deter spoofing, facilitate continuous monitoring, and impart fault tolerance to biometric applications. This chapter introduces the topic of multibiometrics and enumerates the various sources of biometric information that can be consolidated as well as the different levels of fusion that are possible in a biometric system. The role of using ancillary information such as biometric data quality and soft biometric traits (e.g., height) to enhance the performance of these systems is discussed. Three case studies demonstrating the benefits of a multibiometric system and the factors impacting its architecture are also presented. Finally, some of the open challenges in multibiometric system design and implementation are enumerated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

    Arun Ross

  2. University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, Surrey, UK

    Norman Poh

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  1. Arun Ross
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  2. Norman Poh
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Correspondence to Arun Ross .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universitá of Sassari, Dipto. Architettura e Pianificazione, Piazza Duomo, 6, 07041 Alghero SS, Italy

    Massimo Tistarelli (Prof.) (Prof.)

  2. Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Automation, Center Biometrics Research & Security, Room 1227, Zhongguancun 95, 100080 Beijing, China

    Stan Z. Li

  3. University of Maryland, Center for Automation Research, College Park, MD 20742-3275, USA

    Rama Chellappa

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Ross, A., Poh, N. (2009). Multibiometric Systems: Overview, Case Studies, and Open Issues. In: Tistarelli, M., Li, S.Z., Chellappa, R. (eds) Handbook of Remote Biometrics. Advances in Pattern Recognition. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-385-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-385-3_11

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