Equal Error Rate (EER)

A statistic used to show biometric performance, typically when operating in the verification task. The EER is the location on a ROC or DET curve where the false accept rate and false reject rate (or one minus the verification rate {1-VR}) are equal, as illustrated below. In general, the lower the equal error rate value, the higher the accuracy of the biometric system. Note, however, that most operational systems are not set to operate at the "equal error rate" so the measure�s true usefulness is limited to comparing biometric system performance. The EER is sometimes referred to as the "Crossover Error Rate." See also Detection Error Trade-off (DET) curve, false accept rate, false reject rate, Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC).