1. A robust human authentication system for determining if at least one test image obtained using an imaging device matches at least one training image in an enrollment database comprising: a. feature extraction modules comprising: 1) an appearance-based feature extraction module configured for extracting appearance-based features from the face of the test image; 2) a holistic anthropometric feature extraction module configured for extracting holistic anthropometric features from the following elements from the test image: a) head; b) face; c) neck; and d) at least one shoulder; b. feature selector modules comprising: 1) an appearance-based feature selector module configured for selecting the appearance-based features by using energy based cut-off criteria; and 2) a holistic anthropometric feature selector module configured for selecting the holistic anthropometric features that are predictive of the identification of the test image; and c. at least one data fusion combiner module.