Special issue on biometric recognition (editorial)

Over the last decade, biometrics has become the subject of growing attention as a promising technology for complementing, or even replacing, the traditional means of verifying individuals¿ identities in a variety of applications. These include certain specific Government applications such as border control and security, as well as applications in other areas such as finance, commerce and health services. The idea has been primarily driven by the inherent limitations of the traditional identity verification methods, and is supported through accelerated research into different aspects of the technology. In general, an additional benefit of biometrics is that it provides a valid basis for the identification process. This considerably increases the attraction of the technology and its potential value in various practical scenarios.