1. A system for controlling operation of a vehicle based on recognition of an authorized individual, comprising: a processor embodying a pattern recognition algorithm trained to identify whether a person is the individual by analyzing data derived from images; at least one optical receiving unit for receiving an optical image including the person and deriving data from the image, said at least one optical receiving unit being coupled to said processor to provide the data to the pattern recognition algorithm to thereby obtain an indication from the pattern recognition algorithm whether the person is the individual; and a security system arranged to enable operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm provides an indication that the person is an individual authorized to operate the vehicle and prevent operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm does not provide an indication that the person is an individual authorized to operate the vehicle.