A survey of biometric technology based on hand shape

Automated biometric systems have emerged as a more reliable alternative to the traditional personal identification solutions. One of the most popular biometrics is hand shape Clue to its ease of use, non-intrusiveness and public acceptance. This paper presents a survey of the technology used in hand shape-based biometric systems. We first review the component modules including the algorithms they employ. Next we discuss system taxonomies, performance evaluation methodologies, testing issues and US government evaluations. A summary of the accuracy results reported in the literature is also provided. We next describe some of the commercial hand shape biometric systems as well as some recent successful deployments. Finally, we mention a few limitations of the hand shape biometric and give some directions for future research. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.