 |
Ruud M. Bolle, Jonathan H. Connell, Sharath Pankanti, Nalini K. Ratha, Andrew W. Senior research staff members "Write a book with four knowledgeable, smart and stubborn co-authors, it will be a great adventure. " |
On the book: Guide to Biometrics (2004)
What made you decide to write a book on this topic?
Biometrics has survived despite a great amount of hype and wild predictions of its imminent ubiquity. Over the years, we have attempted to untangle the surrounding hyperbole and myths for many of IBM’s customers. The book simply is a compilation of our experiences with the state-of-the-art, theory, and practical implementation of biometrics. Biometrics involves a fascinating subtle interplay of many issues, such as recognition accuracy, total cost of ownership, acquisition and processing speed, intrinsic and system security, privacy and legal requirements, as well as interface usability and user acceptance.
How did you go about the research necessary to write such a technical book?
We have been working on biometrics since 1996 and especially after 9/11 we are often being asked the question, Which biometric is the best? Given the range of services offered by IBM, this question comes from all corners of the information technology industry. The question is a good one, but one that we always answer with, “It depends on ....” followed by an extensive list of factors to be considered. We found ourselves answering the same questions over and over, and decided to write a report to put the answers down on paper. When we were done with the report, we realized that we were a long way to writing a book.
|
What are the greatest challenges to you as an author?
The five C’s: Correctness, consistency, conciseness, completeness and consensus.
What or who inspires and encourages you to write?
We felt it was important to raise the visibility of biometrics in IBM and establish our credentials as experts. We choose the book form, because it is still a major and open-ended medium of disseminating expressions and opinions, especially, in controversial or emerging domains.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Write a book with four knowledgeable, smart and stubborn co-authors, it will be a great adventure.
Who are some of your favorite authors today?
Among the books we read in the past month are: “The Clinton Wars” by Sydney Blumenthal, “The Google Story” by D. Vise and M. Malseed, "Chindi" by Jack McDevitt, “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, “Atonement” by Ian McEwan and “The power of Intention” by Wayne Dwyer.
What role did books play in your childhood?
I remember many books from my childhood. For better or for worse, books dominated my childhood, and not things like video games or the Internet.
Other books by the authors
Biometrics: Personal Identification in Networked Society