2101 - Biometrics for Identity Documents and Smart cards

The main objective of the Action is to investigate novel technologies for unsupervised multimodal biometric authentication systems using a new generation of biometrics-enabled identity documents and smart cards, while exploring the added-value of these technologies for large-scale applications with respect to European requirements in relation to the storage, transmission, and protection of personal data.

The Action will benefit the European community; individual European states; the providers of technology for biometrics, identity documents and smart cards; providers of public and private services; various security organisations wishing to use biometrics authentication for the provision of access to services and confidential information by authorised individuals. Either the challenges ahead are dealt with or the benefits of this aspect of information technology for European countries will be limited.

It has become obvious that a specific fundamental research effort is needed in the transdisciplinary domain of adaptation of the state-of-the-art biometric techniques to the real-world environmental conditions and to user behaviour when using identity documents and smart cards. This Action aims to fulfil these requirements. It will contribute to extending theoretical and applied experience in the very important area of statistical modelling and ambient intelligence and, in particular, provide evaluation of the practical feasibility of new interactive multimodal biometric techniques for unsupervised systems.