Management of access through biometric control: A case study based on automatic signature verification

Abstract.

The idea of the information society is pervasive and varied and, in this context, universal access is itself a multi-faceted concept. However, the notion of universality presupposes an analysis and understanding of what both unifies and discriminates among different individual members of a community of technology users. This paper addresses these ideas and, in particular, seeks to illustrate some techniques which can support such an analysis in a variety of task domains. Of special interest here is a specific case study which examines the use of biometric processing as a means of managing access in the broadest sense. It is argued that not only is the field of biometric measurement one where understanding similarities and differences is the essence of what is required, but also that this offers the opportunity to establish and explore a variety of practical techniques of very wide significance in the context of universal access.