NewsForge: New Open Source Software Takes Smudge Off Old Fingerprinting Issues

"How is the FBI supposed to track down bad guys--including terrorists--if it can't rely on cross-agency handling of fingerprints? With new open source software developed on Linux and written primarily by a programmer working for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fingerprint quality and the ability to match prints taken by a disparate variety of print scanners is improving dramatically.

"Despite advancements in actual fingerprint-lifting techniques--often dramatized on popular television shows--and better quality print scanning that has evolved way beyond the old ink pad, law enforcement officials often struggle to match different quality prints that are logged with different scanners..."

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