Overview

Biometrics are characteristics that can be used for unique identification of individuals and can be classified into two categories: physiological and behavioral characteristics.1,2,3 Physiological characteristics are defined as “physical, structural, and relatively static characteristics”, while behavioral characteristics are defined as an individual’s “distinctive characteristics of movements, gestures, and motor-skills...as they perform a task or series of tasks”.3,4

When evaluating whether a characteristic can be used biometrically, the following seven factors can be used to assess the suitability:5,6,7

Examples of biometric characteristics classified by category are listed below:

• Physiological

Examples include: “fingerprints, face, iris, retina, dental features, finger/hand geometry, ear shape, vascular structures (finger/palm veins)”8

• Behavioral

Examples include: “gait, keystroke recognition, keyboard mouse manipulation, control of touchscreens in terms of hand pressures and gestures, handwriting style, signatures… heartbeat, eye movement”9