Fusion of novel biometrics for human tracking and identification

QinetiQ and Southampton University are engaged in a programme on fusion of novel biometrics for real-world secure environments. The main objective is to develop a camera system for measuring and fusing two key biometrics: gait and hyperspectral signature; for use outdoors, at a distance and in real world scenarios. It will provide a capability to automatically track and identify key individuals remotely and covertly by 3-D analysis of their gait and their spectral signature. This offers a significant tactical advantage over current biometrics systems which either require a cooperative subject or are unreliable in real world scenarios. The programme to date has concentrated upon the core technologies prior to incorporation into a single biometric system and fusion of the respective characteristics. Achievements so far include verification of techniques for 3D gait reconstruction from a single camera, trials of a 16 band IRIS (image replicating imaging spectrometer) camera subsystem, to obtain simultaneous hyperspectral and positional imagery at 30 Hz frame rate, and application of spectral segmentation techniques to isolate and track the human subject in a cluttered urban scene.