The A to Z of biometrics

Juan Vucetich

Argentinean policeman Juan Vucetich was the first to identify a criminal by using their fingerprints, way back in 1892.

The list from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more on each of the entries in the list.

A is for Accuracy
B is for Behavioural biometric
C is for Cash machine
D is for Database
E is for Ear
F is for Facial recognition
G is for Gummi bears
H is for Hand geometry
I is for Iris
J is for Juan Vucetich
K is for Keystroke dynamics
L is for Liveness testing
M is for Mobile phones
N is for Network security
O is for Oxford
P is for Palm
Q is for Queues
R is for Registration
S is for Signature verification
T is for Twins
U is for Universality
V is for Voice verification
W is for Walk
X is for X-ray
Y is for Young
Z is for Zurich Airport

Since then fingerprinting has come on a long way. The UK police National Automated Fingerprint Identification System now holds around 4.6 million full sets of fingerprints.

The pattern of friction ridges and valleys on an individual's fingertips are unique - not even shared by identical twins - and so make a good means of identification.

Another benefit of using fingerprints is that they can be verified by the human eye, unlike some other biometrics. And because they are accurate and easy to capture, fingerprints are likely to remain the leading biometric in use.

Laptops are also appearing with fingerprint readers built in to replace passwords. The first and best-known is the ThinkPad range from Lenovo (ex of IBM), with a million units sold as of the end of last year. As this type of laptop becomes more common it's likely that access to corporate networks will increasingly be through fingerprint verification.

But there are limitations - manual workers can wear away the ridges on their fingers and some people also have missing digits. Some people are reluctant to use fingerprint systems because of connotations of criminality.