Human Biometrics: Moving Towards Thermal Imaging

Thermal imaging is simply the technique of using the heat given off by an object to produce an image of it or locate it. New thermal imaging frameworks for detection, segmentation and unique feature extraction and similarity measurements for human physiological biometrics recognition are reviewed. The research investigates specialized algorithms that would extract vasculature information, create a thermal signature that identify the individual. The highly accurate results obtained by the algorithms presented clearly demonstrate the ability of the thermal infrared systems to extend in application to other thermal imaging based systems. Index Terms — Thermography, Infrared bands, Near IR imaging, Thermal signature, Pedestrians detection, Face detection, Ear detection, Iris recognition, Thermal spectrum, Hand vein patterns, Eye detection, Fingerprint discrimination.