Future trends in biometric processing [Editorial]

Biometrics the automated identification of individuals by means of the measurement of physiological or behavioural characteristics has now reached a level of maturity where viable practical applications are both possible and increasingly available (some one million schoolchildren in the UK, for example, use biometrics on a daily basis for registration, library transactions, etc) and where commercial sensors and systems are to be found in diverse market sectors. Almost all independent predictions of market trends in biometrics suggest the likelihood of increasing growth and outreach of biometrics-based applications on a worldwide scale.