Interactive Displays: Natural Human-Interface Technologies

Chapter 10Multimodal Interaction in Biometrics: Technological and Usability Challenges

Norman Poh¹, Phillip A. Tresadern² and Rita Wong³

¹Department of Computing, University of Surrey, UK

²University of Manchester, UK

³University of Surrey, UK

10.1 Introduction

In our increasingly interconnected society, the need to establish a person's identity is becoming critical. Traditional authentication, based on what one possesses (e.g., token/access card) or what one knows (password), no longer suffices. Biometrics, described as the science of recognizing an individual based on his/her physiological or behavioral traits, which is effectively based on what one is, offers an important solution to identity security. Since unimodal biometric systems have their own limitations, a multimodal biometric system is often needed. This provides an excellent case study for multimodal interaction.

In this chapter, we report the technological design and usability issues related to the use of multimodal biometrics in various applications, ranging from their use in large-scale multi-site border controls to securing personal portable devices.

In the context of the Mobile Biometric project (MOBIO), we combine face and voice biometrics for secure, yet rapid, user verification, to ensure that someone who requests access to data is entitled to it. In addition, we also report our experience of empowering blind users to use the face as biometrics on their mobile device. In order to help them capture good ...