Title: Fundamentals of Hand Biometrics: Commercial and Forensic Applications
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Wai Kin Adams Kong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
When: November 4, 2026 at 8:00 AM US Eastern Time (2:00 pm CEST, 8:00 PM Beijing Time)
Where: Online (Zoom)
Registration (free but required): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1lFx8W0-Q5CJrQWJoGfIAw
Abstract
In this talk, the speaker will first introduce the fundamental concepts of hand-based biometrics and discuss their advantages, including user acceptance, privacy protection, and biometric distinctiveness, particularly for commercial applications. The talk will focus on palmprint recognition, covering its underlying principles, practical applications, and potential for reliable identity verification. The speaker will also introduce other hand-based biometric modalities, including palm vein and finger vein recognition, and discuss the key challenges in developing robust, accurate, and secure hand biometric systems for real-world commercial deployment. These challenges include variations in data acquisition conditions, presentation attacks, and the need to balance recognition performance with usability and privacy. In addition to commercial applications, the talk will explore the potential of palmprints and wrist characteristics for forensic investigations. It will highlight how hand-based biometric evidence can support identity analysis and assist forensic experts in investigating cases where conventional biometric evidence may be unavailable or insufficient. The talk will conclude by discussing emerging opportunities and future research directions in hand biometrics for both commercial and forensic applications.
About The Speaker
Dr. Adams Kong received his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo. He is an Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and Director of the MSc in Artificial Intelligence programme. His research has appeared in leading AI conferences and journals. His papers have been selected as spotlight papers by TPAMI, ICML, and ICLR, and for oral presentation at CVPR; another received an Honorable Mention from PR. His Ph.D. students have won Best Student Paper Awards at BTAS 2012 and BIBE 2013, as well as awards including the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. He serves as an editor for IEEE T-BIOM, The Visual Computer, and TMLR, and as an area chair for NeurIPS, ICLR, CVPR, and ECCV. He has been recognised as a top reviewer by ICML, NeurIPS, and BTAS, and a top area chair by NeurIPS. He served as an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice in a child sexual abuse case and as a consultant in a cross-border legal case.
