An investigation into the technical, legal and ethical issues associated with biometrics in the UK (application to biometrics module for computing programmes)

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate emerging biometric technology and major social implications through the development of an undergraduate computing programme. The investigation involves a series of scenarios considering face, voice and hand recognition systems and their social, legal and ethical implications. Two cases were presented to two student groups triangulated with a focus group to gain a more complex understanding of individual perceptions. The practical implementation was limited to fingerprint and facial recognition technologies used in commercial systems, for example, for access control. The investigation concluded that initially fingerprint recognition should be studied using small-scale technology implementation via the use of scanners for connection to a PC via a USB cable, allowing performance metrics to be established for accuracy and reliability, false acceptance and false rejection rates. The results of this can be compared with those of commercial systems. Facial recognition will use digital cameras and image capture software.