ITL Biometrics OverviewBiometrics is the measurement of physiological characteristics like – but not limited to – fingerprint, iris patterns, or facial features that can be used to identify an individual. NIST has been conducting research in the area of biometrics for over 40 years, with work on fingerprint technologies for the FBI to support law enforcement and forensics dating back to the 1960's. With the need for improved homeland security, biometrics were identified as a key enabling technology. NIST (because of its mission and track record) supports the government-wide effort to increase the collection of good quality biometrics, to see that the data collected is appropriately shared with other agencies, and to make sure biometric systems are accurate and interoperable. NIST's biometric activities include:
NIST partners with virtually every agency in the Government that uses large biometric systems to assist with their mission. This includes:
Why are biometrics important? Biometrics are used to:
Biometrics are used to manage identities for:
Why are biometric standards important? Standards (and their guidance), are vital for building effective biometric systems. The standards that NIST works on enable:
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BIOMETRICS PROGRAM/PROJECTS IN ITLIAD – Image Groupfingerprint, face, iris, & multimodal IAD – Visualization & Usability Groupbiometrics usability IAD – Multimodal Information Groupvoice
CSD – Systems & Emerging Technologies Security Research Groupbiometric resource center, standards, and conformance test tool BIOMETRICS PROGRAMS/PROJECTS IN MMLBSD – Applied Genetics GroupDNA |