History of Biometrics

The word "biometrics" derives from the Greek words "bio" (life) and "metrics" (measurement). While automated biometric systems may appear relatively new given the rapid advances in information technology over the past decade, the conception of these technologies dates back hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Since the dawn of humanity, human identification has begun with the most fundamental method: facial recognition. Many individuals are distinguished as known (familiar) or unknown (stranger) by their facial features. With population growth and the rise in travel options, the need to identify more unknown (stranger) individuals has become increasingly important.

The first systematic use of biometrics dates back to 1858. It was first used by Sir William Herschel in India, who printed handprints on the back of contracts to distinguish civil service employees from non-employees in terms of salary payments.

The creation of a classification system using fingerprints was first developed in 1896 by Sir Edward Henry, then Inspector General of the Bengaluru Police Department, and enabled the identification of criminals. The Henry Classification System was also used by the FBI for many years.

While semi-automated facial recognition began to be used in the United States in the 1960s, by the end of the 1990s, many biometric technologies had spread throughout the world.

Pilot studies for the E-ID project in our country were first introduced in 2006 within the framework of the Information Society Strategy Action Plan. Pilot studies for the project began on July 4, 2007, and the dissemination period for the project was determined to be between 2015 and 2018. The biometric information to be included in the Republic of Turkey ID Card has been determined as fingerprint, finger vein print, and palm vein print.