DANNET: deep attention neural network for efficient ear identification in biometrics.

Biometric identification, particularly ear biometrics, has gained prominence amidst the global prevalence of mask-wearing, exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak. This shift has highlighted the need for reliable biometric systems that can function effectively even when facial features are partially obscured. Despite numerous proposed convolutional neural network (CNN) based deep learning techniques for ear detection, achieving the expected efficiency and accuracy remains a challenge.