Imprint identification system

Image analysis – Applications – Personnel identification

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C382S100000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06181804

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for identifying footwear or other impressions left, for example, at places where crimes have been committed. Although the following description gives footwear as a specific example, the system would also be applicable to impressions left by vehicle tyres or tools for example.
BACKGROUND
Systems have already been proposed for recording and cataloguing footwear patterns taken from footprints left at scenes of crimes, but their use is limited by the fact that many shoes may possess the same sole patterns.
The present invention seeks to provide a novel and inventive system of imprint identification.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention proposes a method of imprint identification which comprises:
producing, with a predetermined reproduction ratio, a digital image of an imprint produced by an article;
displaying said image on a computer screen;
recording in computer memory the coordinates of any unique identification features in said image;
storing the set of co-ordinates thereby produced in a database together with sets of co-ordinates similarly taken from other images; and
comparing said sets of co-ordinates to identify similar sets of co-ordinates likely to originate from the same article.
The image is captured at a predetermined reproduction ratio, i.e. a predetermined ratio between the size of the digital image and the size of the original image, to ensure that the system is of sufficient reliability to be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
The image is preferably produced by recording the light image directly from the imprint rather than by, for example, taking a cast. The elimination of any requirement for taking measurements from a cast or similar intermediate copy of the image, which may be subject to physical distortion (e.g. stretching or shrinking) or operator error in taking measurements, increases the accuracy and reliability of the system.
The invention also provides apparatus for use in the identification of imprints as defined in the appended Claims.
An embodiment of the invention may include the claimed features in any combination.
DEFINITIONS
The term “imprint” is intended to cover any form of physical impression, whether formed as a depression in a pliable surface or as a deposit or other physical change on a rigid surface, whether visible or invisible.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4607384 (1986-08-01), Brooks
patent: 5025476 (1991-06-01), Gould et al.
patent: 5465308 (1995-11-01), Hutcheson et al.
patent: 5479528 (1995-12-01), Speeter
patent: 5613014 (1997-03-01), Eshera et al.
European Convention on Security and Detection (Conf. Publ. No. 408), Brighton, UK, May 16-18, 1995, ISBN 0-85296-640-7, 1995, London, UK, pp. 267-271, XP000672461 Philips M: “A Shoeprint image coding and retrieral system”.

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