Yes / An important issue in many of today's biometric applications is the development of efficient and accurate techniques for representing related 3D data. Such data is often available through the process of digitization of complex geometric objects which are of importance to biometric applications. For example, in the area of 3D face recognition a digital point cloud of data corresponding to a given face is usually provided by a 3D digital scanner. For efficient data storage and for identification/authentication in a timely fashion such data requires to be represented using a few parameters or variables which are meaningful. Here we show how mathematical techniques based on Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) can be utilized to represent complex 3D data where the data can be parameterized in an efficient way. For example, in the case of a 3D face we show how it can be represented using PDEs whereby a handful of key facial parameters can be identified for efficient storage and verification.

The research conducted under this study offers an understanding of the reasons why information technology (IT) and/or information assurance (IA) managers choose to recommend or not to recommend particular technologies, specifically biometric security, to their organizations. A review of the relevant literature provided the foundation to develop a set of research questions and factors for this research effort. The research questions became the basis of the study’s stated hypotheses for examining managers’ perceptions of the security effectiveness, need, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of biometrics. The research indicates that positive perceptions of security effectiveness, need, reliability, and cost-effectiveness correlate with IT/IA managers’ willingness to recommend biometric security technologies. The implications of this study are that executives and managers can make informed decisions about the recommendation and adoption process relevant to biometric security technologies through an understanding of how perceptions of biometric technology affect the decision to recommend this type of technology. The study’s results may also help biometric product developers, vendors, and marketers understand the important perceptions of biometric security technologies within their customer base of IT/IA managers.

Yes / Multimodal biometric systems have been widely applied in many real-world applications due to its ability to deal with a number of significant limitations of unimodal biometric systems, including sensitivity to noise, population coverage, intra-class variability, non-universality, and vulnerability to spoofing. In this paper, an efficient and real-time multimodal biometric system is proposed based on building deep learning representations for images of both the right and left irises of a person, and fusing the results obtained using a ranking-level fusion method. The trained deep learning system proposed is called IrisConvNet whose architecture is based on a combination of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Softmax classifier to extract discriminative features from the input image without any domain knowledge where the input image represents the localized iris region and then classify it into one of N classes. In this work, a discriminative CNN training scheme based on a combination of back-propagation algorithm and mini-batch AdaGrad optimization method is proposed for weights updating and learning rate adaptation, respectively. In addition, other training strategies (e.g., dropout method, data augmentation) are also proposed in order to evaluate different CNN architectures. The performance of the proposed system is tested on three public datasets collected under different conditions: SDUMLA-HMT, CASIA-Iris- V3 Interval and IITD iris databases. The results obtained from the proposed system outperform other state-of-the-art of approaches (e.g., Wavelet transform, Scattering transform, Local Binary Pattern and PCA) by achieving a Rank-1 identification rate of 100% on all the employed databases and a recognition time less than one second per person.

Les travaux effectués dans le cadre de cette thèse porte sur le contrôle intelligent, isoarchique et multicritère de flux de personnes dans une zone fermée. Nous proposons un système de contrôle basé sur la biométrie multimodale et le RFID qui sont deux techniques complémentaires pour une sécurisation robuste et flexible du flux de personnes. La biométrie multimodale est utilisée pour une reconnaissance plus fiable des individus, et le RFID pour la sécurisation et le stockage des informations identitaires des personnes à surveiller. Ce système est complètement décentralisé et la décision concernant une demande d'accès est prise de manière autonome au niveau de chaque porte de chaque zone sous contrôle. Les entités internes participantes au processus de prise de décision répondent à des concepts exprimés via le paradigme holonique. L'ouverture automatique d'une porte est conditionnée à la conjonction de plusieurs critères. Une méthode d'aide multicritère à la décision est ainsi déployée au sein de chaque porte d'accès pour fusionner les réponses des identifications biométriques et pour traiter en temps réel les demandes d'autorisation d'accès. Tout d'abord, un état de l'art a été réalisé sur la biométrie, la multimodalité biométrique, la technologie RFID et les systèmes de contrôle d'accès physique. Ensuite, un système de contrôle intelligent, isoarchique et multicritère a été proposé, intégrant l'utilisation simultanée de la multimodalité biométrique et du RFID. Enfin, un démonstrateur du système a été implémenté dans le cadre du contrôle de flux de détenus dans une prison. / The proposed work deals with the intelligent control, isoarchic and multicriteria of people flow in a restricted area. Our proposal is a control system based on a multimodal biometrics and RFID which are considered as two secured complementary techniques for robust and flexible people flow control. Multimodal biometrics is used for more reliable individual recognitions and the RFID for securing and storing supervised individuals identity information. This system is completely decentralized and the decision related to a control access request is made autonomously at each gate of each controlled area. The internal entities which participate to the decision making process respond to the holonic paradigm concepts and principles. The automatic gate opening is conditioned with several criteria conjunction (biometrics identifications, RFID identification, access permissions, authorized paths, status of the zone at time t, etc.). A multicriteria decision aid method is thus deployed in each access gate to merge biometrics identifications responses and to automatically treat the real-time access authorization requests. First, a state of art related to the biometric recognition, the contribution of multimodal biometric, the RFID technology and the physical access control based on biometric, was done. Then, an intelligent, isoarchic and multicriteria control of people flow system was proposed, including the use of multimodal biometric and RFID. At the end, a system simulation test bed was implemented to control prisoners flow in a jail. It supports the integration of various biometrics and RFID technologies.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A large portion of system breaches are caused by authentication failure either during the system login process or even in the post-authentication session, which is further related to the limitations associated with existing authentication approaches. Current authentication methods, whether proxy based or biometrics based, are hardly user-centric; and they either put burdens on users or endanger users' (biometric) security and privacy. In this research, we propose a biometrics based user-centric authentication approach. The main idea is to introduce a reference subject (RS) (for each system), securely fuse the user's biometrics with the RS, generate a BioCapsule (BC) (from the fused biometrics), and employ BCs for authentication. Such an approach is user-friendly, identity-bearing yet privacy-preserving, resilient, and revocable once a BC is compromised. It also supports "one-click sign on" across multiple systems by fusing the user's biometrics with a distinct RS on each system. Moreover, active and non-intrusive authentication can be automatically performed during the user's post-authentication on-line session. In this research, we also formally prove that the proposed secure fusion based BC approach is secure against various attacks and compare the new approach with existing biometrics based approaches. Extensive experiments show that the performance (i.e., authentication accuracy) of the new BC approach is comparable to existing typical biometric authentication approaches, and the new BC approach also possesses other desirable features such as diversity and revocability.

Dans son contexte spécifique, le terme « biométrie » est souvent associé à l'étude des caractéristiques physiques et comportementales des individus afin de parvenir à leur identification ou à leur vérification. Ainsi, le travail développé dans cette thèse nous a conduit à proposer un algorithme d'identification robuste, en considérant les caractéristiques intrinsèques des phalanges de la main. Considérée comme une biométrie cachée, cette nouvelle approche peut s'avérer intéressante, notamment lorsqu'il est question d'assurer un niveau de sécurité élevé, robuste aux différentes attaques qu'un système biométrique doit contrer. La base des techniques proposées requière trois phases, à savoir: (1) la segmentation des phalanges, (2) l'extraction de leurs caractéristiques par la génération d'une empreinte, appelée « Phalange-Code » et (3) l'identification basée sur la méthode du 1-plus proche voisin ou la vérification basée sur une métrique de similarité. Ces algorithmes opèrent sur des niveaux hiérarchiques permettant l'extraction de certains paramètres, invariants à des transformations géométriques telles que l'orientation et la translation. De plus, nous avons considéré des techniques robustes au bruit, pouvant opérer à différentes résolutions d'images. Plus précisément, nous avons élaboré trois approches de reconnaissance biométrique : la première approche utilise l'information spectrale des contours des phalanges de la main comme signature individuelle, alors que la deuxième approche nécessite l'utilisation des caractéristiques géométriques et morphologiques des phalanges (i.e. surface, périmètre, longueur, largeur, capacité). Enfin, la troisième approche requière la génération d'un nouveau rapport de vraisemblance entre les phalanges, utilisant la théorie de probabilités géométriques. En second lieu, la construction d'une base de données avec la plus faible dose de rayonnement a été l'un des grands défis de notre étude. Nous avons donc procédé par la collecte de 403 images radiographiques de la main, acquises en utilisant la machine Apollo EZ X-Ray. Ces images sont issues de 115 adultes volontaires (hommes et femmes), non pathologiques. L'âge moyen étant de 27.2 ans et l'écart-type est de 8.5. La base de données ainsi construite intègre des images de la main droite et gauche, acquises à des positions différentes et en considérant des résolutions différentes et des doses de rayonnement différentes (i.e. réduction jusqu'à 98 % de la dose standard recommandée par les radiologues « 1 µSv »).Nos expériences montrent que les individus peuvent être distingués par les caractéristiques de leurs phalanges, que ce soit celles de la main droite ou celles de la main gauche. Cette distinction est également valable pour le genre des individus (homme/femme). L'étude menée a montré que l'approche utilisant l'information spectrale des contours des phalanges permet une identification par seulement trois phalanges, à un taux EER (Equal Error Rate) inférieur à 0.24 %. Par ailleurs, il a été constaté « de manière surprenante » que la technique fondée sur les rapports de vraisemblance entre les phalanges permet d'atteindre un taux d'identification de 100 % et un taux d'EER de 0.37 %, avec une seule phalange. Hormis l'aspect identification/authentification, notre étude s'est penchée sur l'optimisation de la dose de rayonnement permettant une identification saine des individus. Ainsi, il a été démontré qu'il était possible d'acquérir plus de 12500/an d'images radiographiques de la main, sans pour autant dépasser le seuil administratif de 0.25 mSv / In its specific context, the term "biometrics" is often associated with the study of the physical and behavioral of individual's characteristics to achieve their identification or verification. Thus, the work developed in this thesis has led us to suggest a robust identification algorithm, taking into account the intrinsic characteristics of the hand phalanges. Considered as hidden biometrics, this new approach can be of high interest, particularly when it comes to ensure a high level of security, robust to various attacks that a biometric system must address. The basis of the proposed techniques requires three phases, namely: (1) the segmentation of the phalanges (2) extracting their characteristics by generating an imprint, called "Phalange-Code" and (3) the identification based on the method of 1-nearest neighbor or the verification based on a similarity metric. This algorithm operates on hierarchical levels allowing the extraction of certain parameters invariant to geometric transformations such as image orientation and translation. Furthermore, the considered algorithm is particularly robust to noise, and can function at different resolutions of images. Thus, we developed three approaches to biometric recognition: the first approach produces individual signature from the spectral information of the contours issued from the hand phalanges, whereas the second approach requires the use of geometric and morphological characteristics of the phalanges (i.e. surface, perimeter, length, width, and capacity). Finally, the third approach requires the generation of a new likelihood ratio between the phalanges, using the geometric probability theory. Furthermore, the construction of a database with the lowest radiation dose was one of the great challenges of our study. We therefore proceeded with the collection of 403 x-ray images of the hand, acquired using the Apollo EZ X-Ray machine. These images are from 115 non-pathological volunteering adult (men and women). The average age is 27.2 years and the standard deviation is 8.5. Thus, the constructed database incorporates images of the right and left hands, acquired at different positions and by considering different resolutions and different radiation doses (i.e. reduced till 98% of the standard dose recommended by radiologists "1 µSv").Our experiments show that individuals can be distinguished by the characteristics of their phalanges, whether those of the right hand or the left hand. This distinction also applies to the kind of individuals (male/female). The study has demonstrated that the approach using the spectral information of the phalanges' contours allows identification by only three phalanges, with an EER (Equal Error Rate) lower than 0.24 %. Furthermore, it was found “Surprisingly” that the technique based on the likelihood ratio between phalanges reaches an identification rate of 100% and an EER of 0.37% with a single phalanx. Apart from the identification/authentication aspect, our study focused on the optimization of the radiation dose in order to offer safe identification of individuals. Thus, it has been shown that it was possible to acquire more than 12,500/year radiographic hand images, without exceeding the administrative control of 0.25 mSv

Security is becoming an increasingly important issue for business, and with it comes the need for appropriate authentication; consequently, it is becoming gradually more important to develop secure e-commerce systems. Fraud via the web, identity theft, and phishing are raising concerns for users and financial organisations. In addition, current authentication methods, like passwords, have many problems (e.g. some users write them down, they forget them, or they make them easy to hack). We can overcome these drawbacks by using biometric authentication systems. Biometric systems are being used for personal authentication in response to the rising issue of authentication and security. Biometrics provide much promise, in terms of preserving our identities without the inconvenience of carrying ID cards and/or remembering passwords. This research is important because the securing of e-commerce transactions is becoming increasingly important. Identity theft, hacking and viruses are growing threats to Internet users. As more people use the Internet, more identity theft cases are being reported. This could harm not only the users, but also the reputation of the organisations whose names are used in these illegal acts. For example, in the UK, online banking fraud doubled in 2008 compared to 2007. More users took to e-shopping and online banking, but failed to take necessary protection. For non-western cultures, the figures for web security, in 2008, illustrated that Saudi Arabia was ranked ninth worldwide for users who had been attacked over the web. The above statistics reflect the significance of information security with e-commerce systems. As with any new technology, user acceptance of the new technology is often hard to measure. In this thesis, a study of user acceptance of biometric authentication systems in e-transactions, such as online banking, within Saudi society was conducted. It examined whether Saudis are practically willing to accept this technology. This thesis focuses upon Saudi Arabia, which has developing economy. It has achieved a rapid rate of growth, and therefore makes an interesting and unique case study. From an economist's point of view, Saudi Arabia is the powerhouse of the Middle East. It has the leading regional economy, and, even though it is still relatively young. It has a young and rapid growing population; therefore, this makes Saudi Arabia an attractive potential market for all kinds of e-commerce applications. Having said that, with more than half of population under the age of 30 are more to be expected to take the risk of accepting new technology. For this work, 306 Saudi participants were involved in the experiments. A laboratory experiment was created that actively tested a biometric authentication system in combination with a survey. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adopted in the first experimental phase as the theoretical basis on which to develop the iv research framework, the model has proven its efficiency as a good predictor for the biometric authentication system. Furthermore, in a second experimental phase, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with moderating variables such as age, gender and education level was examined as a proposed conceptual framework to overcome the limitations of TAM. The aim of the study was to explore factors affecting users' acceptance of biometric authentication systems. The findings from Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis indicate that education level is a significant moderating factor, while gender and age do not record as significant. This thesis added new knowledge to this field and highlighted the importance of the perceptions of users regarding biometric security technologies. It helps determine the factors affecting the acceptance of biometric technology. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study of this issue carried out by academic and non-biased researchers in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the thesis presents security technology companies and developers of information security products with information to help in the determination of what is significant to their user base when taking into account the introduction of new secure systems and products.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamas genetinių algoritmų taikymas biometrijoje. Išnagrinėta plačiausiai naudojama biometrinė informacija, aprašytos labiausiai paplitusios biometrinės sistemos, genetiniai algoritmai bei jų pritaikymas biometrinių sistemų optimizavimui. Baigiamajame darbe pasiūlytas naujas rankos atpažinimo metodas. Šiam metodui pritaikyti genetiniai algoritmai. Darbą sudaro 7 dalys: įvadas, biometrija, genetiniai algoritmai, genetinių algoritmų taikymas biometrinėse sistemose, genetinių algoritmų taikymas rankos atpažinimui, išvados ir literatūra. Darbo apimtis – 51 p. teksto be priedų, 30 pav., 4 lent., 32 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. / In the graduation thesis to receive the master‘s degree the application of genetic algorithms in biometrics is analysed. The most widely used biometric information have been examined, the most common biometric systems, genetic algorithms and their customization in biometric systems optimization have been described. A new method is proposed for hand recognition. Genetic algorithms have been customized for this method. Structure: introduction, biometry, genetic algorithms, application of genetic algorithms in biometric systems, application of genetic algorithms for hand recognition, the conclusions and bibliography. Thesis consist of: 51 p. text without appendixes, 30 pictures, 4 tables, 32 bibliographical entries.

Eksperimentai atlikti 2009–2010 m. Lietuvos žemės ūkio universiteto bandymų stotyje, kur dirvožemis karbonatingas sekliai glėjiškas išplautžemis (Calc(ar)i-Epihypogleyic Luvisol), o prieš sėją dirvožemio pH – 6,7, judriojo fosforo – 235 mg kg-1, judriojo kalio – 189 mg kg-1. Mūsų tyrimo tikslas buvo nustatyti sėjos laiko įtaką žieminių rapsų skrotelės formavimuisi rudenį ir peržiemojimui kintančio klimato sąlygomis. Atlikus tyrimus, nustatyta, kad pagal biometrinius parametrus, žieminiai rapsai, sėti rugpjūčio 20 d. – rugsėjo 5 d., buvo geriausiai pasiruošę žiemojimui: jie turėjo 6,4–9,6 lapus, šaknies kaklelio storis buvo 4,5–10,2 mm, viršūninio pumpuro aukštis buvo 9,1–45,6 mm. Žieminių rapsų hibridinės veislės 'Kronos', auginimas ir vystymasis rudenį bei peržiemojimas, buvo geresni, negu žieminių rapsų linijinės veislės 'Sunday'. Žieminai rapsai veislės 'Kronos' ir 'Sunday', sėti rugpjūčio 30 d. – rugsėjo 5 d. peržiemojo geriausiai. Hibridiniai rapsai buvo mažiau jautrūs sėjos laikui, nes jie tiek ankstyvesnės (rugpjūčio 10-20 d.), tiek vėlyvesnės (rugsėjo 10 d.) sėjos peržiemojo geriau už linijinius. Labai vėlyva rapsų sėja turėjo neigiamą įtaką žiemojimui. Pasėti rugsėjo 15 d. tiek ‘Sunday’, tiek ‘Kronos’ veislių žieminių rapsų pasėliai neperžiemojo. Rapsų žiemojimas priklausė nuo skrotelės lapų skaičiaus, šaknies kaklelio storio ir viršūninio pumpuro aukščio bei nuo temperatūrų, didesnių nei +2oC sumos, kuri stipriais koreliaciniais ryšiais tiesiogiai susieta su rapsų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The experiment carried out in 2009–2010 in the Experimental Station of Lithuanian University of Agriculture, where is shallow calcareous luvisol (Calc(ar)i-Epihypogleyic Luvisol) and before sowing soil pH – 6.7, phosphorus 235 mg kg-1, potassium – 189 mg kg-1. Aim of our research was to determine the effect of sowing time of winter oilseed rape in autumn and during the winter changing climatic conditions. The research showed that according to biometric parameters, winter rape, sown on 20 August – 5 September, was best prepared for the winter: they had 6.4 - 9.6 leaves, root of the neck thickness was 4.5–10.2 mm, apical bud height was 9.1–45.6 mm. The growth and development in the autumn and during the winter, of hybrid winter rape variety 'Kronos', was better than the linear variety of winter rape 'Sunday'. Winter rape varieties 'Kronos' or 'Sunday', sown on 30 August – 5 September, over wintered best. Hybrid rape were less sensitive to sowing date, because they both of earlier (10–20 August) and late (10 September) sowing dates over wintered better than linear. Very late sowing date had a negative impact on the over wintering. Sown on 15 September 'Sunday' and 'Kronos' varieties of winter rape crop has not over wintered. Rape wintering depends on the number of rosette leaves, root collar thick ness, apical bud height and the sum of high temperatures, higher than +2oC the which is in the strong possitive correlation wish the rape crowns morphometric parameters.

Darbo objektas – skirtingu laiku sėti žieminių rapsų (Brassica napus L. spp. oleifera bennis. Metzg.) linijinės veislės ‛Cult’ ir hibridinės – ‛Kronos’ pasėliai. Darbo metodai: Tyrimai atlikti Aleksandro Stulginskio universiteto bandymų stotyje. Vertinami biometriniai rodikliai (antžeminės dalies masė, šaknies kaklelio diametras, lapų skaičius ir viršūninio pumpuro aukštis), peržiemojimas, produktyvumo formavimasis vertinamas pagal derlingumo elementų kiekybinius ir kokybinius rodiklius, kurie priklauso nuo sėjos laiko ir peržiemojimo sąlygų: derliaus struktūros elementai (1000 sėklų masė, ankštarų skaičius, sėklų skaičius ankštaroje, 1000 sėklų masė, derlingumas). Darbo rezultatai. Vėlinant sėjos laiką, ‛Cult’ ir ‛Kronos’ rapsų biometriniai rodikliai esmingai mažėjo visais tyrimo laikotarpiais. Tinkamiausią žiemojimui viršūninio pumpuro aukštį turėjo rugpjūčio 10 d. ir 20 d. sėti abiejų veislių rapsai. Labai mažus viršūninius pumpurus turėjo rapsai pasėti rugpjūčio 30 d. ir rugsėjo 10 d. Geriausiai peržiemojo hibridiniai rapsai ‛Kronos’. Daugiausiai ankštarų taip pat užaugino hibridiniai rapsai, sėti rugpjūčio 10 d., tačiau suvėlinus sėja ankštarų daugiau formavo linijinės veislės rapsai. ‛Cult’ ir ‛Kronos’ žieminiai rapsai suvėlinus sėją užmezgė esmingai vidutiniškai 10,5 proc. mažiau sėklų ankštaroje, bet jų 1000 sėklų masė buvo didesnė. Didžiausią 1000 sėklų masę užaugino abiejų veislių rapsai sėti rugpjūčio 30 d. (‛Cult’ 5,43 g, ‛Kronos’ 5,58 g), tačiau nei sėjos laikas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object – arable crops of winter oilseed rape linear variety‛Cult’ and the hybrid ‛Kronos’ (Brassica napus L. ssp . Oleifera Bennis . Metzq) sown at different time. Methods of work: Research has been carried out in Aleksandras Stulginskis university Experimental Station. Biometric indicators ( terrestrial mass , root collar diameter , number of leaves and apical bud height) and wintering have been valued ; formation of productivity has been measured by the harvest elements of quantitative and qualitative indicators, which depend on the time of sowing and wintering conditions: structural harvest elements ( 1000 seed weight , pod number , seeds per pod , 1000 seed weight , yield ). Results. Having delayed the sowing time, ‛Cult’ and ‛Kronos’ rape biometric indicators substantially decreased in all study periods. The most appropriate for wintering apical bud height of both varieties of rape was on August 10th and 20th. Rape sown on August 30th and September 10th had a very small apical bud. The best overwintered variety of winter rape was hybrid ‛Kronos’. Hybrid rape sown on August 10th brought up the most pods, however delayed sowing time brought up more pod in linear rape. ‛Cult’ and ‛Kronos’ winter oilseed rape after delayed sowing established essentially an average of 10.5 percent less seeds in the pod, but their 1000 seed weight was greater. The largest mass of 1000 seeds originated from both varieties of oilseed rape sown on August 30th (‛Cult’ 5.43 g, ‛Kronos’ 5... [to full text]