ADDRESSING CONTACTLESS FINGERPRINT CAPTURE
By B. Scott Swann
Chair, Biometric Identification Services Subcommittee, International Association of Identification (IAI)
Senior Director of Innovation, MorphoTrak, LLC
In a technological environment that is dependent upon standards to ensure that the technology works correctly, there are sometimes cases in which the technology advances faster than the standards. As early as 2004, this was the situation in the electronic fingerprint capture community.
As the National Institute of Justice and other organizations began to solicit ideas for rapid capture of fingerprints, a variety of companies and universities began developing “contactless” fingerprint systems which, unlike the existing livescan systems of the day, did not require the prints to come in contact with a platen.
Contactless fingerprint systems can be provided in various forms. For example, a tower configuration or a small desktop reader could be used, in which the user moves his or her hand in the proximity of the reader. Alternatively, a smaller handheld device – or even a smartphone with a camera of sufficient quality – could capture fingerprints. These methods potentially allow rapid capture of the fingerprints.
As these systems moved from the test phase to the production phase, several questions began to arise:
- How could we know whether these contactless systems were capturing accurate representations of the fingerprints that could be used by forensic professionals and other people who work with print data?
- How could such systems be certified, when the existing certification standards inherently assumed that the captured prints would come in contact with a surface?
- How could contactless systems from dissimilar vendors interoperate with each other?
- How could data from contactless systems interact with legacy data from inked cards, contact livescan systems, and crime scenes?
“Approximately half of the police departments in the United States have fewer than ten sworn officers on the force. These agencies are often limited in the technology they can deploy to improve public and officer safety in their communities. One of the most important pieces of information in nearly every enforcement encounter between officers and citizens is the identity of the party(ies) involved---Who is the person with whom the officer is dealing? Are they wanted on an outstanding warrant? Do they represent a danger to the officer or the public at large? Providing affordable mobile technologies, like fingerprint identification solutions on an officer’s smartphone that connects to state and federal criminal justice databases, would be a tremendous tool in the hands of officers in the field.”
On Wednesday, September 23, 2015, a workshop was held at the Global Identity Summit (GIS) in Tampa, Florida entitled “Advancing Contactless Fingerprint Systems.” The panelists supporting the workshop included the following experts:
- B. Scott Swann (moderator), Chair, Biometric Identification Services Subcommittee, International Association of Identification (IAI); Senior Director of Innovation, MorphoTrak, LLC
- Dr. Andy Pertl, Lead System Engineer, The MITRE Corporation
- Michael Garris, Biometrics Senior Scientist, NIST/ITL/IAD Information Access Division, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- Mike Lesko, Deputy Assistant Director, Texas Department of Public Safety
- Nick Megna, Unit Chief, Biometrics Center of Excellence, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Diane Stephens, Chief, Standards and Technology Section, Office of Biometric Identity Management, Department of Homeland Security
- Bill Schade, Biometric Records Manager, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
The workshop had a dual purpose: to discuss advances to date in contactless fingerprint acquisition, and to discuss strategies that will assist in further advancing the technology into products that can support law enforcement, defense, border protection, civil applicants, healthcare, and other commercial sectors.
The United States government has pursued technologies to provide touchless fingerprint acquisition for years, but capability gaps remain in providing consumable products. Multiple research endeavors have been initiated to advance beyond traditional optical livescan fingerprinting systems, and this need by the government has been listed as a top research initiative in both releases of the National Biometric Challenge publication distributed by the National Science Technology Council Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management.
Certification of contactless technology requires further definition. The current certification process is based upon contact images, and modifications are anticipated to provide a proper full certification program for the various use cases that can be supported by contactless technology.
While the current technology is not mature enough to support criminal booking, the stakeholders attending the conference unanimously agreed that the technology is advanced enough that controlled pilots with contactless fingerprint technology should be pursued. Such pilots can assist in defining certification strategies, as well as defining the appropriate use cases for contactless technology. Results of pilots can then be shared with the Advisory Policy Board, the Compact Council, the International Association for Identification, and other important governance and stakeholder groups.
In addition to controlled pilots, it is also essential to continue research in this area. During the workshop, NIST described a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) program it has initiated to assist technology providers with advancing their technology. NIST has been a long-time trusted partner to the FBI, and the findings from this program are anticipated to assist the government in better understanding the capabilities of this technology and defining certification protocols.
It should be noted that after the September 23 workshop took place, multiple vendors have pursued and achieved PIV certification. However, challenges remain in measuring whether contactless devices can meet more stringent requirements, such as those reflected in the FBI Appendix F certification.
In summary, the GIS provided an ideal forum for a variety of stakeholders to gather and discuss their respective interests in advancing this technology. The workshop was among the most attended at the 2015 GIS with over 100 participants. There was clear interest by potential consumers as well as vendors to migrate the technology to the marketplace, understanding the necessity to carefully test and measure the impacts to existing services. The needs described in the NSTC National Biometric Challenges publication have assisted industry in addressing various identification challenges.
Through continued government collaboration, stakeholders look forward to continuing these advancements and assessing progress on pilot activities at the GIS in 2016. This continued work will allow the community to work toward answers to the questions regarding accurate representations of fingerprints, certification and interoperability of contactless systems, and the use of such systems with legacy data.
About the Author
B. Scott Swann chairs the Biometrics Identification Services Sub- committee of the International Association for Identification (IAI). He also serves as the Senior Director of Innovation for the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Business Unit of MorphoTrak. Prior to joining MorphoTrak, Mr. Swann served in a variety of management roles, most recently as Special Assistant to the FBI Executive Assistant Director of the Science and Technology Branch. Mr. Swann holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. He obtained an undergraduate degree in business management from Salem-Teikyo University and a master’s in software engineering from West Virginia University.
This article was originally printed in the June 2016 edition of The Police Chief magazine.