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On
February 21st 1999, the Information Technology Laboratory
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and
the Biometric Consortium sponsored a Workshop to discuss the
potential for reaching industry consensus in a common fingerprint template
format. The participants identified the need for a “technology-blind”
biometric file format that would facilitate the handling of different
biometric types, versions, and biometric data structures in a common way.
This common file format would facilitate exchange and
interoperability of biometric data. (A “technology-blind biometric file format would include
all modalities of biometrics and would not bias, encourage, or discourage
any particular vendor or biometric technology from another. It would not
attempt to translate among different biometric technologies, but would
identify them and facilitate their co-existence”) The participants
suggested that for the time being, the content of the biometric data
structures (e.g., raw or processed biometric data) would not be defined in
the common file format.
The CBEFF’s initial conceptual definition and the scope of work were
achieved through a series of three Workshops co-sponsored by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Biometric
Consortium.
These
Workshops were held on:
May
10, 1999 in Chicago. IL
September
17, 1999 in Arlington, VA
December
1, 1999 in San Francisco, CA
A
Technical Development Team, formed as a result of these Workshops,
developed CBEFF as described in
“Common
Biometric Exchange File Format (CBEFF)”, F. L. Podio, J. S. Dunn, L.
Reinert, C. J. Tilton, L. O'Gorman, M. P. Collier, M. Jerde, and B. Wirtz,
National Institute of Standards and Technology, January 2001, NISTIR 6529.
For a copy of NISTIR 6529, please click
here (233KB - pdf file).
The development was coordinated with industrial organizations including the BioAPI
Consortium, the X9.F4 Working Group (a Working Group of the Accredited
Standards Committee X9, Financial Services), the International
Biometric Industry Association (IBIA), and
the Interfaces Group of
TeleTrusT. (Efforts focused on harmonizing
the data formats among CBEFF, draft ANSI standard X9.84 and the
specification developed by the BioAPI Consortium.) Participation of the
International Biometric Industry Association (IBIA) as the
registration authority for the biometric data format was also addressed.
The IBIA has agreed to be the registration authority - the
organization which will manage the registration, issuance, and archiving
of the Format Owner and Format Type values for Organizations and Vendors
which require them. The IBIA
has set up a web based support
site, including the registration and
retrieval of CBEFF identifiers.
The CBEFF Technical Development Team has proposed that further CBEFF
development be undertaken under the umbrella of the recently formed Biometrics
Interoperability, Performance, and Assurance Working Group sponsored
by NIST and the Biometric Consortium. For more information on future plans, please
click here.
Home
| Background | Benefits
| Scope | CBEFF
Data Elements
Patron
Biometric File Formats | Format
Owner and Format Type Registration Adding
New CBEFF Patron Formats | Future
Plans Technical
Development Team | Contacts
| Related
Events/Activities
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