Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD
Darmstadt Biometrics Week 2023
Biometrics as a key technology of the future
Gathering of the biometrics community in Germany: This year’s Darmstadt Biometrics Week will bring together researchers and end users from all over the world. During the five-day series of events (September 18 22), they will exchange information on the latest research results and developments in the industry. They will especially focus on key topic areas such as morphing, presentation attack detection and privacy protection in biometric applications. The organizers are still accepting registrations for the individual components of the week-long event.
Darmstadt: From fingerprint mapping and facial recognition to retinal scans, identification technologies will come under the spotlight during Darmstadt Biometrics Week. Darmstadt in the German federal state of Hessen is considered to be a hub of excellence in the field of biometrics, not least because scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD have been investigating biometrics here since 1993. “Against the background of this year’s anniversary, the 2023 Biometrics Week is going to be a very special one,” says Florian Kirchbuchner, Head of the Smart Living & Biometric Technologies Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics IGD. “We are delighted that the event now counts as one of the most important in the industry.” The research institute is co-organizing the series.
Varied program brings together research and application
Scientists and end users, who primarily include national and international security authorities such as Europol and Homeland Security, will address current research issues in the format of lectures, keynotes speeches, conference contributions and scientific poster sessions. Personal identification and authentication, image morphing and attack detection are of particular interest in the context of border security. In addition, the event will shed light on standards in biometrics, e.g. How should passports be designed in the future? How can the quality of facial images and fingerprints be ensured? “In a digital world, biometric solutions not only provide security and convenience, but also represent an indispensable basis for precise identification,” explains Kirchbuchner. Biometrics research is becoming increasingly important in the context of today’s global challenges.
Fraunhofer IGD employees will also be presenting results from their biometrics research at the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE. One such contribution shows that the criterion of fingerprint image quality does not allow a direct conclusion to be reached on biometric usability. Another presentation will demonstrate an approach that uses artificial intelligence to generate fictitious facial images of non-existent persons. These can then be used to train AI-based face recognition software. The General Data Protection Regulation prohibits the use of databases containing publicly accessible photos from the internet for this purpose, because the individuals shown have not given their explicit consent. The Fraunhofer solution circumvents this problem to generate synthetic training data for the development of facial recognition systems.
The week-long program of events starts on Monday morning (September 18) with a meeting of the TeleTrusT Biometrics working group. This will be followed by the 2023 EAB Research Projects Conference of the European Association for Biometrics (EAB), which will continue into Tuesday. The EAB General Assembly is scheduled for the following day. On Wednesday evening, there will also be a presentation ceremony to honor the excellent final papers and doctoral theses that have won the 2023 European Biometrics Max Snijder, Research, and Industry Awards. Finally, on Thursday and Friday, researchers will meet up for the 22nd International Conference of the Biometrics Institute Group (BIOSIG).
Participation also possible online
Fraunhofer IGD is not only host and co-organizer of the series, but also has close ties with the other partners. Both the EAB and the Competence Center for Applied Security Technology (CAST e. V.), which is organizing this year’s BIOSIG, were founded at the Darmstadt institute. Because of construction work currently taking place on the premises of Fraunhofer IGD, the institute is unable to host this year’s Biometry Week. The various events will therefore be held at the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology and at Justus-Liebig-Haus on this occasion.
The organizers expect around 150 participants to attend the different events. It is still possible to register for Biometry Week at https://www.igd.fraunhofer.de/en/events/biometrics-week.html. Interested parties can also participate in the EAB Research Projects Conference online.