Bio metrics is the science of establishing human identity by using physical traits (such as face, , and iris) and behavioral traits (such as keystroke and gait). With the unprecedented mobile technology revolution, an increasing number of individuals are using their smartphone for sensitive applications and transactions. However, mobile phones are misplaced, lost, and stolen more than other computing devices. Therefore, efforts have been directed at development of bio metrically secured mobile access and transactions.

The use of bio metric technology in mobile devices has been referred to as mobile bio metrics, encompassing both the sensors that acquire bio metric signals, and software algorithms for their verification. According to Acuity Market Intelligence Forecast, mobile bio metric revenue is expected to surpass 33 billion dollars by 2020 not just for unlocking devices but to approve payments and as a part of multi-factor authentication services. It is estimated that by then 2.4 billion mobile bio metric users will be utilizing the technology for about 825 billion transactions. Along with advancement in computing and sensor technology. The rapidly expanding market for bio metric authentication is exemplified by mobile wallets and other payment systems such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, along with major players like MasterCard that utilize bio metric authentication via smartphones.

Popular mobile bio metric modalities include fingerprint, face, and ocular region consisting of iris, conjunctival vasculature, and periocular area. Among other reasons, face bio metrics has become especially attractive because of the popularity of ‘selfies’ and the fact that the face image can be acquired using only smartphone cameras instead of requiring a dedicated sensor such as in the case of fingerprint and iris.

Reference:

Rattani, Ajita, and Reza Derakhshani. “A Survey Of mobile face biometrics.” Computers & Electrical Engineering 72 (2018): 39-52.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compeleceng.2018.09.005