As any fan of Sherlock Holmes can attest, identifying a person through their unique biological characteristics, such as fingerprints, is nothing new. Harnessing the power of cutting-edge technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to leverage an individual’s inherent physical and behavioral traits is, however, another story altogether.

Over the last 15 years, biometric technology has hit the mainstream, exploding into a multibillion-dollar industry and touching nearly every aspect of modern life. Whether through a simple finger scan to unlock a phone, access a bank account, move ahead of a queue or gain entry to a secure work area, or via a facial recognition scan as they move through a crowd, most people have provided their biometric information to a private entity, even if they do not necessarily know about it. The dramatic growth and innovation of biometrics only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it became clear early in the crisis that biometrics are uniquely positioned to solve many practical problems that arise in a socially distanced world. As we look toward a post-lockdown world, the biometrics industry shows no signs of slowing.