Automated Fingerprint Analysis Machine

The brief

Fingerprint analysis is a bench process: lift at the scene, transport, then image and identify back at the lab. Each handoff costs hours and introduces another point where evidence can be degraded.

We compressed that process into a single device that could be taken to the scene and operated on the spot, even by someone who is not a forensics specialist.

The challenge

Everything that makes laboratory imaging reliable - controlled lighting, a stable bench, mains power, proper equipment and machines - is absent in the field.

• Imaging quality high enough for ridge-level detail
• A power and thermal budget that a portable enclosure can actually sustain
• Enough compute on board to run pattern recognition without a network connection
• A simple interface to operate, even by someone who is not a specialist

How we approached it

The optics and the enclosure were designed together rather than in sequence. Integrating the components to work in harmony, including cameras, motors, heatbeds, spray nozzle, sequentially with the right timing and alignment, while the whole thing is being held by a person in an uncontrolled space.

Identification runs on the device, internet is not needed to run the algorithms.

What we built

High-resolution imaging with controlled illumination, temperature, humidity, and controlled substance delivery built into the enclosure. Embedded compute running everything locally, and an interface reduced to the smallest number of steps that produces a defensible result.

The processing path from capture to identification is automated end to end, which is where the reduction in handling time comes from - the operator and the location are no longer bottlenecks.

Results

The figures below were measured against the existing process.

Field use

Portable equipment gets treated differently from bench equipment, so the unit was validated against handling and environmental conditions rather than only against imaging benchmarks. We cover that stage, and the UAE approvals around it, in taking a hardware product to market in the UAE.