Soft-Biometrics: Soft-Computing for Biometric-Applications

Biometrics, the computer-based validation of a persons’ identity, is becoming more and more essential due to the increasing demand for high-security systems. A biometric system testifies the authenticity of a specific physiological or behavioral characteristic possessed by a user. New requirements over actual biometric systems as robustness, higher recognition rates, tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty, and flexibility call for the use of new computing technologies. In this context soft-computing is increasingly being used in the development of biometric applications. Soft-Biometrics correspond to a new emerging paradigm that consists in the use of soft-computing technologies for the development of biometric applications. The aim of this paper is to motivate discussions on application of soft-computing approaches in specific biometric measurements. The feasibility of soft-computing as a tool-set for biometric applications should be investigated. Finally, an application example on static signature verification is presented, providing evidence of soft-computing’s impact in biometrics.