COMP 488 - 002

Regular Academic Session

3801

Graduate

3 units

Graded

Biometrics

This course is used to introduce emerging topics in computer science that do not yet have a regular course number. Content of the course varies.

Outcomes: Understanding of an emerging area of Computer Science.

Prerequisites: COMP 271 or 400B

Course Title: Biometrics, from simple authentication to undesired surveillance Description: How do computers match a person's fingerprints? Do they still use the same techniques proposed in the XIX century? How do computers identify people captured in a video? Do they leverage the depicted faces only, or can they use other traits such as gait or voice? How about iris recognition as portrayed in the movies? Is it really possible? What happens in the case of people who look very similar, such as identical twins? Which traits are more reliable and robust to impersonation or prone to falsification? These are some of the questions we will address in this course, whose main topic is Biometrics. In a nutshell, Biometrics is the study of techniques to identify individuals through their physical, chemical, and behavioral traits, such as fingerprints, face, iris, DNA, voice, gait, etc. Our focus will be on the technical and ethical aspects of computer-aided Biometrics, discussing the issues of going from simple and benign authentication to the more problematic case of surveillance. The course will have an intense hands-on approach, with the collection of samples and implementation of fingerprint, face, and iris recognition. Link with a past syllabus: https://danielmoreira.github.io/teaching/biometrics-spr22/.

Daniel Moreira

MoWe 4:15PM - 5:30PM

08/25/2025 - 12/13/2025

In person

Lake Shore Campus

Lake Shore Campus

Closed

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