Individual identification is one of the research hotspots in the practice of forensic science, and the judgment is usually built on the comparison of the unique biological characteristics of the individual, such as fingerprints, iris and DNA. With the dramatic increase in the number of cases related to video image investigations, there is an increasing need for the technology to identify individuals based on the macroscopic comparison of facial appearance biometrics. At present, with the introduction of computer three-dimensional (3D) modeling and 3D superimposition comparison technology, considerable progress has been made in individual identification methods based on macroscopic comparison of facial appearance biometrics. This paper reviews individual facial appearance biometric methods based on macroscopical comparison, comprehensively analyzes the advantages and limitations of different methods, and puts forward recommendations and prospects for subsequent research.
个体识别是法庭科学实践的研究热点之一，通常依据具有个体唯一性的生物特征（如指纹、虹膜、DNA等）比对结果进行判别。随着视频图像侦查相关案件数量的剧增，基于宏观比对面部表观生物特征进行个体识别的技术需求日益增长。目前，由于计算机3D建模及3D叠加比对技术的引入，基于宏观比对面部表观生物特征的个体识别方法取得了可观进展。本文综述了基于宏观比对面部表观生物特征进行个体识别的不同方法，对其优势和局限性进行分析，并对后续研究提出建议与展望。.
Keywords: biometric recognition; facial characteristics; forensic medicine; individual identification; macroscopical comparison; review.