In June 2016, Anil Jain, a professor of Computer Science at Michigan State University (USA) was asked to unlock a smartphone using Fingerprint Sensor by the federal police. That was the mobile phone of a murder victim, which police believed to contain useful clues to find the killer. Anil Jain used 3D printing to recreate finger of the man, which then became a remarkable technological breakthrough.
Professor Anil Jain of Michigan State University, who helped police to identify a murder using 3D printing technique
Professor Anil Jain was first known by cops through an Youtube video in which he talked about his fingerprint recreation method. They brought fingerprints found on the victim to his lab with hope that they can find the identification of the murderer.
2D images of fingerprints were upgraded to 3D under a high resolution 3D printer. Jain and his co-workers made a great afford to reconstruct exactly the ridge configuration in a soft plastic sample. The issue was, ID Sensor wouldn't be activated with a plastic finger. It needs electrical charge, which is available in fingers of alive people. Afterwards,the team covered the plastic finger with a extremely thin layer of conductive metallic material, which could carry a charge to the finger scanner.
Before, the lab run by professor Anil Jain was to calibrate and make completion of Fingerprint Sensor rather than unlocking a smartphone. While there are a lot of manufactures who use Fingerprint Sensor, Jain did not disclose the brand name of the phone that police brought to his lab yet. Besides, it is still an ongoing case so the professor could not share many details. Right now there is no official revelation from authorities about whether the killer has been arrested or not, but the phone has been unlocked. Important clues have turned out, then the case will come to an end soon.
Professor Anil Jain of Michigan State University, who helped police to identify a murder using 3D printing technique Professor Anil Jain was first known by cops through an Youtube video in which he talked about his fingerprint recreation method. They brought fingerprints found on the victim to his lab with hope that they can find the identification of the murderer.
2D images of fingerprints were upgraded to 3D under a high resolution 3D printer. Jain and his co-workers made a great afford to reconstruct exactly the ridge configuration in a soft plastic sample. The issue was, ID Sensor wouldn't be activated with a plastic finger. It needs electrical charge, which is available in fingers of alive people. Afterwards,the team covered the plastic finger with a extremely thin layer of conductive metallic material, which could carry a charge to the finger scanner.
Before, the lab run by professor Anil Jain was to calibrate and make completion of Fingerprint Sensor rather than unlocking a smartphone. While there are a lot of manufactures who use Fingerprint Sensor, Jain did not disclose the brand name of the phone that police brought to his lab yet. Besides, it is still an ongoing case so the professor could not share many details. Right now there is no official revelation from authorities about whether the killer has been arrested or not, but the phone has been unlocked. Important clues have turned out, then the case will come to an end soon.