UPDATES ON CLPEX.com

Updated the Fingerprint Interest Group (FIG) page with FIG #58; Movement; submitted by B. Manno.  You can send your example of unique distortion to Charlie Parker: Charles.Parker@ci.austin.tx.us.  For discussion, visit the CLPEX.com forum FIG thread.

Updated the forum Keeping Examiners Prepared for Testimony (KEPT) thread with KEPT #32; Blind Verification - What is it? submitted by Michelle Triplett.  You can send your questions on courtroom topics to Michelle Triplett: Michele.Triplett@kingcounty.gov

Updated the Smiley Files with 2 new smileys, submitted by Lora Cornell of Ideal Innovations Inc. You can send your smileys to the Smiley Czar, Bill Wolz at: ridgeranger21@yahoo.com.

Updated the Detail Archives
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George Reis brought us a look at forensic digital image asset management.  Thanks to all that offered feedback to George, and if you have not yet done so but would like to, George can still be reached over the next few weeks regarding your feedback on this topic.

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DoD BTF Biometric Scan - Enduring Capabilities; Experimentation, Cutting-Edge Events, and Research Awards
by Dr. Myra Gray, BTF Director, and Editorial Staff
July/Aug/Sept 2008

Director's Message:

It’s an exciting time to be in the biometrics field. This issue of The Scan reports on several recent achievements toward Unity of Effort among government agencies, industry, and academia to bring cohesion within this enabling technology. Recently, the BTF hosted the "Next Generation Biometrics" Warfare Analysis Laboratory Exercise, where we met with leading innovators from industry and academia to consider technology in the future. We are also helping sponsor the Tactical Network Topology events, which test emerging technologies and find solutions.

Our lead story covers the first-ever DoD Biometrics Enterprise Strategic Plan, which helps articulate and direct how the BTF supports the overall Department of Defense Enterprise solution for biometrics. As you can see from our link to the new Presidential directive, biometrics plays a major role in the security of our nation and requires unity of effort. In the Q&A section, read how BTF Standards are leading those needs.

Finally, we have reports in from the updated Broad Agency Announcement and Biometric Technology Demonstration releases, and news from TRADOC on its progress in writing requirements that will allow biometrics to become a formal program of record.

I often say, as the Director of the Biometrics Task Force, I am a glorified cat-herder among disparate collectors of biometrics. At times like these, when we all seem to be heading in the same direction and showing great results, the job is more than enjoyable, it is richly rewarding. I hope you are enjoying your work as well.

Dr. Myra S. Gray, SES
Director, Biometrics Task Force

TNT Sets Off Long-Range Experiments

Biometrics playing a larger role in Tactical Network Topology joint experimentation venue that spans three locations . . .

Stepping into a new role as co-sponsor, the Biometrics Task Force has joined the Naval Post-graduate School of Monterey, Ca., in hosting the U.S. Special Operations Command quarterly cooperative field experiment venue known as Tactical Network Topology. TNT is a simultaneous demonstration of new technologies between three locations: Camp Dawson, W.Va., Camp Roberts, Ca., and Camp Atterbury, IN.

TNT provides an experimentation venue to support the near-term needs of the warfighter by evaluating and improving biometric capabilities and communication architectures used to collect, store, and transmit biometric data. The series of quarterly field experiments is currently focused on technologies bridging the information gap in the “Last Tactical Mile,” headquarters to tactical units in remote locations. Future experiments will build upon the lessons from the “Last Tactical Mile” experiments to develop new biometrics activities, some of which will be created by the BTF
Concepts & Technologies (C&T) Branch for inclusion in TNT.

The roots of the current TNT cooperative field experimentation program began in 2002 when the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) conducted experiments in a field environment to assess various technologies and concepts being used at the NPS. Joint experimentation began when SOCOM personnel visited the NPS to leverage the faculty and its student expertise. SOCOM and the NPS combined efforts, which eventually led to the creation of the TNT venue. BTF involvement began in May of 2005, according to Jon Hayes, TNT’s biometrics project manager and part of the C&T Branch. Hayes executes TNT experiments at Camp Dawson and leads engineering projects related to TNT biometric experimentation. His work at the BTF allows him to interface with various vendors and technologies to identify and evaluate new biometrics activities and initiatives for inclusion in TNT.

The BTF began hosting TNT experiments from Camp Dawson a year ago, focusing on biometrics and supporting technologies. The C&T and the Technology Assessment and Standards Conformance (TASC) Branches have participated in TNT to support concept development, conduct technology assessments, and identify tactical capabilities and limitations in Special Operations Forces (SOF) biometric collection and matching processes as they exist today.

Dr. Gray and other members of the BTF leadership observed the May 08 TNT event, which was the largest yet at Camp Dawson. The disparate locations help test rapid identification efforts on wireless networks, unmanned or autonomous vehicles, sensor networks, situational awareness, net-centric applications, target tracking and identification, and biometric identification and verification. Measures of performance for each of the demonstrated technologies are collected by Special Operations Forces operators, engineers and technicians. Requirements gaps and technical shortfalls are then addressed and improvements are made for the next quarterly experiment.

Experimentation has included biometric technologies that: enable the collection of multimodal biometric data (face and iris) both covertly and overtly and from a stand-off location, collect iris images and provide location matching services, relate law enforcement tactics and systems to military scenarios, enhance latent fingerprint image collections, and showcase new and maturing biometric collection technologies. The next TNT experiments will be August 17-22.

WALEX: Advancing Biometric Technology

The Biometrics Task Force and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Milton Eisenhower Research Center sponsored the "Next Generation Biometrics" Warfare Analysis Laboratory Exercise at APL June 10-11.

This two-day event served to gather members of the intelligence, government, and academic communities in a collaborative effort to meet the challenges of remote, unconventional, non-cooperative, next generation biometrics within the government.

As sponsors of the event, BTF Director Dr. Myra Gray welcomed the group to the APL’s Warfare Analysis Laboratory (WAL) and shared her aspirations for the event to do more than identify the best biometric solutions for remote human identification, saying, “What we are doing here today will make a difference for the Global War on Terror.” Gray was followed by other leaders in the biometrics community before the event began to evaluate biometric technologies and their classified and unclassified applications in specific scenarios.

The WAL facility is like a war simulation room with 53 work stations that allow simultaneous electronic discussions. Information discussed within “the WAL” is secure; however, BTF Latent Print Examiner Kasey Wertheim had some general comments about the event. “Seeing the state-of-the-art technologies being presented by the scientists who are actively working on them is a rare treat in the biometric world.” Mr. Wertheim’s reference to scientists stems from the cadre of seven PhD presenters over the course of the two-day session. “Although specific capabilities are classified,” continued Wertheim, “DoD is generally interested in the exploration of new biometric modalities, capturing biometrics from moving subjects, and near-real-time communication to systems from the field… and technology generally follows the interests of government customers.”

BTF Selection Process Chooses Innovative Projects

As reported in the last issue of The Scan, the BTF is actively promoting the identification and transition of biometric technology in the DoD by soliciting proposals and selecting projects to fund for development. This includes two Science & Technology-related initiatives: Biometric Technology Demonstrations (BTD) – sponsored by the BTF, and Biometrics Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) – sponsored by the Director, Defense Research & Engineering.

We reported last quarter that 30 BTD project proposals had been considered. Here is a list of the five selected for funding this fiscal year:

Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Command and Control Directorate (C2D) will prototype and test its Biometric Identification & Notification Services (BINS), to provide the Warfighter with a means to analyze and verify biometric data captured in theater, in near-real time;

Space Warfare Systems Center (SPAWARSYSCEN) Charleston will implement a “Face Recognition at a Distance” capability to the existing Biometric Inmate Tracking System (BITS) current in use at the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston;

Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) / U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) are jointly sponsoring the development and testing of a DoD “Identity Enrollment System”, to capture biometrics and identity documents, and to generate a unique identifier for non-Common Access Card (CAC)-eligible personnel requiring access;

Armament Research Engineering and Development Center (ARDEC), will build and test an “Iris Recognition at Distance” system (3-6 meter range) in an operational environment;

Army Research Office (ARO) will test and validate a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) “Interoperable Biometric Fusion Platform” technology for use with large and disparate databases (using output data only), and establish a best practices and framework for implementation.

Solicitations for the FY09 BTDs will take place in July and August 08.

The second initiative is the Biometrics Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). The fiscal year 2008 Biometrics BAA specifically requested proposals for unique and innovative research for biometric identification research. Of the 175 proposals, 10 have been selected for funding. Below are the organizations that received an award and the title of their project:

Aoptix for “Development of an Advanced Hand-held Iris Biometric Imager Brassboard and Demonstration”
Cross Match Technologies for “Multi-Biometric Fusion”

Digital Signal Corporation for “A Daytime/Nighttime Long Range Multi-biometric System for Military Operations”
Noblis for “Multispectral Iris Fusion for Enhancement and Interoperability”

Flashscan3D LLC for a “Miniature, Non-contact, Rolled Equivalent Fingerprint Collection Device using Structured Light Illumination”

Honeywell for “Acquiring High-Quality Iris Images from Moving Subjects with a Fluttering Shutter”
Sarnoff Corporation for “High Speed Iris Biometric Capture”

Scitor for a “Novel Long Range Illuminator”

Syntronics for a [ruggedized, hand-held] “Syntronics LatentMaster Fingerprint Workstation”

University of Houston for “Face Recognition for Physical and Logical Access Control: Demonstration and Assessment”

The BAA is intended to remain open for two years to allow for additional efforts as funding permits. Solicitations for the FY09 Biometrics BAA are scheduled to begin this September.

Also noteworthy is the development of a Biometrics S&T Strategy, an ongoing effort being sponsored by the Director, Defense Biometrics. MITRE Corporation is working with the BTF and the service S&T organizations to develop the S&T Strategy, which will fall within the umbrella of the DoD Biometrics Enterprise Strategy. Once complete, the BTF will begin development of the Biometrics S&T Plan and S&T Roadmap, also in conjunction with the services and agencies within DoD. Together, these documents will provide guidance to the DoD S&T community that will shape biometric S&T efforts and provide our warfighters and business users with the future capabilities they require to meet their mission.

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KEPT - Keeping Examiners Prepared for Testimony - #32
Blind Verification - What is it?
by Michele Triplett, King County Sheriff's Office

Disclaimer:  The intent of this is to provide thought provoking discussion.  No claims of accuracy exist. 

Question – Blind Verification

What is Blind Verification?

Possible Answers:

a)      Blind verification is a method of reviewing a case, or a conclusion in a case, for reliability.

b)      Blind verification is a re-examination of a case or a conclusion in a case by another person who doesn’t know the results of the first examination.  To do a proper blind verification the verifier should have the same or equivalent information that the original examiner had.

c)      Blind verification is the ultimate way to validate an identification.

d)      Blind verification is method of testing a potential conclusion for reproducibility (reliability)?

Discussion:

Answer a:  Blind verification isn’t the review of what’s been done in the case because the blind reviewer isn’t given any information to review.

Answer b:  Blind verification is a re-examination if the person doing the blind verification has the same or equivalent information that the original examiner had.  If they don’t have the same or equivalent information then it may be considered a new examination instead of a re-examination.

Answer c:  Blind verification tests the reliability of a conclusion (the reproducibility) but it doesn’t look at how the conclusion was arrived at (the validity of the conclusion).  Another topic for discussion regarding this answer is the use of the term ‘identification’ vs. using the term ‘individualization’ (but that’s a topic for another discussion).

Answer d:  Blind verification is a new concept to the latent print community but it’s common in other scientific disciplines.  Many disciplines refer to it as blind testing.

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If you have not yet signed up to receive the Weekly Detail in YOUR e-mail inbox, go ahead and join the list now so you don't miss out!  (To join this free e-mail newsletter, enter your name and e-mail address on the following page: http://www.clpex.com/Subscribe.htm  You will be sent a Confirmation e-mail... just click on the link in that e-mail, or paste it into an Internet Explorer address bar, and you are signed up!)  If you have problems receiving the Detail from a work e-mail address, there have been past issues with department e-mail filters considering the Detail as potential unsolicited e-mail.  Try subscribing from a home e-mail address or contact your IT department to allow e-mails from Topica.  Members may unsubscribe at any time.  If you have difficulties with the sign-up process or have been inadvertently removed from the list, e-mail me personally at kaseywertheim@aol.com and I will try to work things out.

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Have a GREAT week!