The problems of using ROC curve as the sole criterion in positive biometrics identification

Yingzi Du; Chein-I Chang

doi:10.1117/12.719855

2 May 2007 The problems of using ROC curve as the sole criterion in positive biometrics identification

Yingzi Du, Chein-I Chang

Proceedings Volume 6579, Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing for Military and Security Applications 2007; 65790K (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.719855
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2007, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is widely used in biometric identification. It is a plot of the detection power virus false alarm rate. It is an objective measure of accuracy. Positive biometrics identification is one-to-many match. ROC curve has been served as a "golden" criterion in measuring the accuracy of biometrics system for positive biometric identification. However, in this paper, we will analyze the problems of using ROC curve as the sole criterion in positive biometrics identification. From the view of detection and estimation theory, ROC curve only took concerns of system variance, and would not be able to detect the system bias, which could give wrong conclusion in evaluating system accuracy across multiple databases. ROC curve does not reflect the cost function, the database size, the quality of the image, and many other factors that are important in system performance and accuracy. We will use iris recognition as an example to discuss these issues. At the end, we will discuss some possible solutions to solve these problems.

Citation Download Citation

Yingzi Du and Chein-I Chang "The problems of using ROC curve as the sole criterion in positive biometrics identification", Proc. SPIE 6579, Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing for Military and Security Applications 2007, 65790K (2 May 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.719855

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available