Abstract: Biometric measuring apparatus for recognizing a person's identity based on measurements performed on the person's hand. An arrangement for producing and storing a silhouette image of at least a portion of a person's hand is combined with an arrangment for producing and storing a displacement image of the same portion of a person's hand to provide measurement data on finger height characteristics. An analyzing device analyzes the silhouette image and the displacement image to produce hand feature data. The apparatus stores hand feature data obtained during a hand enrollment operation cycle and to compare with hand feature data obtained during a subsequent hand bid operation cycle to determine if the person has previously been enrolled on the apparatus.