1. A biometric authentication unit comprising: a biometric object sensor comprising sensor elements and a sensor computing device; a wake-on-event logic controller maintaining the sensor computing device in one of a powered-off or powered down mode, and including a bulk biometric object detector configured to detect a biometric object on or in the vicinity of the sensor elements and to power-on or power-up the sensor computing device responsive to the detection of the biometric object on or in the vicinity of the sensor elements; the sensor computing device configured to analyze one or more items of biometric bona fides data and determine if the biometric bona fides data belongs to a biometric object desired to be imaged to obtain a biometric object image for use in authenticating a user providing the biometric object image, and to provide a power-on or power-up signal to a host electronic device computing device when the biometric bona fides data indicates the biometric object is a biometric object desired to be imaged.