Iris Image Quality Metrics with Veto Power and Nonlinear Importance Tailoring

Linear combinations of metrics for assessing biometric sample quality are weak, because they lack veto power. For example, a good score for sharp focus of an ocular image would ‘compensate’ in an additive combination for the fact that the eyelids are fully closed; or fully open eyelids would compensate for the image being many diopters out-of-focus. Normalised multiplicative quality factors are better because they are punitive, and thereby confer veto powers. This chapter explains the basis for the product of power functions which underlie the ISO/IEC 29794-6 Iris Image Sample Quality Standard, in particular how the exponents of the power functions allow importance tailoring of each element.