Mobile Fingerprint Capture

• NCJ Number: 245148
• Author(s): Sam Mil'shtein, Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2013
• Length: 43 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-IJ-CX-K021
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical); Program/Project Description

Annotation

This is the final report on a project that designed and tested a novel, mobile, and contactless fingerprinting system based on line-scan technology.

Abstract

The system developed is capable of contactless imaging of the human palm, four fingers together, and nail-to-nail rolled-fingerprint equivalents. Contactless fingerprinting is combined with infra-red (IR) testing of blood vessels. Currently, the IR mapping of blood vessels is used to determine whether a scanned finger is alive and not a decoy; however, blood vessels can potentially be an additional biometric identifier. One section of this report describes alternative designs based on aerial and line-scan cameras; compares different imaging and optical systems; and discusses the trade-offs involved with various design choices. Another section of the report discusses the novel fingerprint processing algorithms for processing and aiding in the recognition of fingerprints, with attention to binarization procedure, fingerprint alignment, and various problems and solutions related to fingerprint processing. A section that discusses the applications of contactless fingerprint technology includes a sub-section on its application in law enforcement agencies. It notes that a standardized fingerprinting method that captures a nail-to-nail image will assist efforts to move toward a single large database from which a specific portion of the image may be extracted depending on individual requirements. A database system that contains high-quality images and a repeatable method for fingerprint capture would facilitate applications such as real-time recognition of individuals; e.g., police officers carrying mobile fingerprint capture units could successfully execute an arrest by verifying the identity of the individual. Network security is discussed in the report's final section. 29 figures and 34 references