Deep Learning for Biometrics: A Survey

In the recent past, deep learning methods have demonstrated remarkable success for supervised learning tasks in multiple domains including computer vision, natural language processing, and speech processing. In this article, we investigate the impact of deep learning in the field of biometrics, given its success in other domains. Since biometrics deals with identifying people by using their characteristics, it primarily involves supervised learning and can leverage the success of deep learning in other related domains. In this article, we survey 100 different approaches that explore deep learning for recognizing individuals using various biometric modalities. We find that most deep learning research in biometrics has been focused on face and speaker recognition. Based on inferences from these approaches, we discuss how deep learning methods can benefit the field of biometrics and the potential gaps that deep learning approaches need to address for real-world biometric applications.