The field of biometrics utilizes computer models of the physical and behavioral characteristics of human beings with a view to reliable personal identification. The human characteristics of interest include visual images, speech, and indeed anything which might help to uniquely identify the individual.

The other side of the biometrics coin is biometric synthesis rendering biometric phenomena from their corresponding computer models. For example, we could generate a synthetic face from its corresponding computer model. Such a model could include muscular dynamics to model the full gamut of human emotions conveyed by facial expressions.

This book is a collection of carefully selected papers presenting the fundamental theory and practice of various aspects of biometric data processing in the context of pattern recognition. The traditional task of biometric technologies human identification by analysis of biometric data is extended to include the new discipline of biometric synthesis.