Human Biometric Sensor Interaction (HBSI) / Ergonomics

This research is being led by Eric Kukula and Dr. Elliott

Biometric technologies are impacted by the presentation of the biometric to the sensor. The presentation of the biometric can be affected by a number of issues, including placement of the biometric (incorrect placement of the on the sensor), the perception of the user to biometric devices , or the fact that the design of the sensor does not provide users with the appropriate interaction required to have repeatable images.

The Human Biometric Sensor Interaction is closely tied into the discipline of ergonomics and human factors, HCI, and usability. An image of the model combining aspects of these disciplines can be seen to the right. Research questions that have been examined by the BSPA group include:

• User perceptions of iris camera depth of field versus the recommended manufacturers operational depth of field.
• Fingerprint image quality and repeatability and the role age plays.
• Is the performance of the biometric sensor linked to habituation to the sensor?
• How does dynamic signature verification changes as a result of user interaction - do variables change when a user is sitting at the table, signing standing up, or when the size of the pad changes? Which variables change, and are these important?
• The effect of height on hand geometry performance.
• Do specific digits perform better than others? Do users prefer certain fingers?
• Does finger force/pressure impact the resulting fingerprint image quality?
• Preliminary studies comparing small area sensors and large area sensors to swipe based devices.

Currently, Eric Kukula is researching the HBSI for his PhD dissertation. He created the conceptual model above and has proposed an evaluation method that he will evaluate in a comparative test using swipe-based fingerprint sensors. His research is titled Design and Evaluation of the Human-Biometric Sensor Interaction (HBSI) Method. More information on this topic will be posted when it becomes available.

Importance of Research in the HBSI

While personal identification techniques using physical and behavioral characteristics date back to almost 3000 B.C., it was not until the middle of the twentieth century that techniques became automated, which is the differentiating factor between other identification techniques and biometrics as it is currently defined. The first commercially available biometric systems emerged in the 1970s and to date much research has been dedicated to the development in three areas: increasing performance, increasing throughput, and decreasing the size of the sensor or hardware device. Moreover, limited research has focused on usability and issues relating to how users interact and use biometric devices. Furthermore, the biometrics community has traditionally lumped user interaction errors as system errors due to the experimental design. But as biometric performance evaluations continue to grow in complexity and standardized testing protocols and technical reports emerge such as ISO 19795-1, ISO 19795-2 , and ISO TR19795-3 , many physical, behavioral, and social factors can now be attributed to degradation of biometric system performance. Thus, if we can attribute these factors to the user and not the sensing technology or algorithm, it must be examined in order to continue moving the field forward.

Why should the community listen?

The successful deployment of biometric systems, regardless of modality or application, needs to take into consideration how individuals interact with the device. Failure to do so may cause a degradation of the optimal performance of the biometric sensor, causing problems such as: failure to acquire, failure to enroll, and impacts in the false reject rate. And if an individual cannot successfully interact with a biometric device, although the device has been implemented, there is a potential for a failure to use. So, even though a device such as a laptop or PDA has a biometric sensor integrated, it does not necessarily mean that the individual will use it, especially if they have had previous negative experiences with a biometric sensor. Therefore the use of biometrics will likely be dependent on individuals’ ability to not only use it more effectively, but also find it more useful than the technology that it replaces (such as the username / password combination in a computer sign-on application), and like it, which are the components of usability as outlined in ISO 9241-11. Therefore, as utilization of biometric technology becomes more pervasive, understanding the interaction between the human and the biometric sensor becomes imperative and must be investigated.

To break down the HBSI, we have separated the discussion into 2 parts:

• Biometric Properties and Ergonomic Implications
• Significance of the Human-Biometric Sensor Interaction Problem / Short Literature Review

HBSI Publications

Book Chapters

Elliott, S., Kukula, E., & Modi, S. (2007). Issues Involving the Human Biometric Sensor Interface. In S. Yanushkevich, P. Wang, & S. Srihari (Eds.), Image Pattern Recognition: Synthesis and Analysis in Biometrics. World Scientific Publishers. Series in Machine Perception and Artificial Intelligence vol. 67. pp. 339-364

Conference Proceedings

	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., and Duffy, V. (2007, July 22-27). The Effects of Human Interaction on Biometric System Performance. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction and 1st International Conference on Digital-Human Modeling. Beijing, China, V.G. Duffy (Ed.): Digital Human Modeling, HCII 2007, LNCS 4561, pp. 903–913.
	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., Gresock, B., and Dunning, N. (2007, June 7-8). Defining Habituation using Hand Geometry. Proceedings of the 5th IEEE Workshop on Automatic Identification Advanced Technologies in Alghero, Italy, pp. 242-246
	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., Kim, H., and San Martin, C. (2007, May 17-20). The Impact of Fingerprint Force on Image Quality and the Detection of Minutiae. Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE International Conference on Electro Information Technology (EIT). (pp. 482-487).Chicago, IL.
	Kukula, E. and Elliott, S. (2006, October 16-19). Implementing Ergonomic Principles in a Biometric System: A Look at the Human Biometric Sensor Interaction. (pp. 86-91). Presented at the 40th IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technolgy. Lexington, KY
	Elliott, S. J., Kukula, E. P., Sickler, N. C. (2004). The challenges of environment and the human biometric device interaction on biometric system performance . International Workshop on Biometric Technologies - Special forum on Modeling and Simulation in Biometric Technology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Prior Research Quad Charts

	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., San Martin, C., & Senarith, P. (2006). Different working heights of biometric devices and the affect on system performance.
	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., Parsons, M., & Whitaker, M. (2006). Analysis of performance and usability of a small-area and swipe fingerprint sensor using FTA and FTE.
	Kukula, E., Elliott, S., Dunning, N., & Gresock, B. (2006). Hand Habituation: The effect varying time intervals between use have on hand geometry performance.

White Papers