Fingerprint-based recognition

Biometric recognition, or biometrics, refers to the authentication of an individual based on her or his biometric traits. Among the various biometric traits (e.g., face, iris, fingerprint, voice), fingerprint-based authentication has the longest history, and it has been successfully adopted in both forensic and civilian applications. Advances in fingerprint capture technology have resulted in new large-scale civilian applications (e.g., US-VISIT program); however, these systems still encounter difficulties due to various noise factors present in operating environments. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of fingerprint-based recognition and discuss research opportunities for making these systems perform more effectively.