BiometrcisAdvanced investigative facial recognition solution for law enforcement
Animetrics shows ForensicaGPS, a new facial biometric tool for local, state, and federal law enforcement; the company says ForensicaGPS allows law enforcement to identify criminal suspects, even from a low-resolution photo or video surveillance
Animetrics, a developer of 3D facial recognition and identity management solutions, the other day introduced ForensicaGPS, a new facial biometric tool for local, state, and federal law enforcement. The company says that ForensicaGPS allows law enforcement to identify criminal suspects, even from a low-resolution photo or video surveillance. The system’s facial forensic tools enable law enforcement to analyze and compare multiple images for more precise identification of suspects.
The company says it is partnering with law enforcement technology solutions providers DataworksPlus and BI2 Technologies to deliver ForensicaGPS to police and sheriff’s departments in the United States.
Internationally, Animetrics is teaming with European law enforcement technology distributors UNIDAS Germany and UMC Forensics GmBH Switzerland. Animetrics’ facial identification and forensic analysis application are already deployed by the Zurich Forensic Police Department in Switzerland. ForensicaGPS is also being installed in police departments in the Middle East including Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
“In law enforcement, there’s a crucial need to compare multiple facial images to determine if the images are of the same or different individuals,” said Paul Schuepp, president and chief executive officer of Animetrics. “ForensicaGPS enables law enforcement professionals to quickly, efficiently and accurately compare, analyze and ultimately verify digital facial images from grainy surveillance photos or videos where a suspect’s face is often shielded or distorted.”
The company says that ForensicaGPS translates low-resolution 2D facial images from a digital photo or video frame into a 3D image using Animetrics’ patented face recognition technology. ForensicaGPS converts photos and video frames of a person’s face into “ID ready” images including facial pose correction. The company says this makes it easier for victims to identify suspects or for law enforcement to compare the images against mug shots within Animetrics FaceR Identity Management Solution (FIMS), correction facilities and criminal databases, or third-party facial recognition systems.
“Video and photo surveillance is only effective for solving crimes if law enforcement can interpret this visual data and match it against their own criminal databases. Often law enforcement only has a blurry or obstructed image to go on when identifying suspects which are very challenging to interpret,” said Udo Woermann, president of UNIDAS Germany. “With ForensicaGPS, for the first time police have a tool that can overcome this challenge – helping to identify more suspects with more speed and accuracy and improve public safety.”
The company notes that for more accurate identity matching, ForensicaGPS can analyze and compare up to five images of a suspect. Its forensic tools allow metric analysis of face similarity scoring, as well as 2D or 3D visualization of facial structure, geometry, and texture. The software’s comparative analysis includes identifying features such as scars, moles, tattoos and distance measurements between facial features.
