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Synonyms

Fingerprint benchmark; Fingerprint corpora; Fingerprint dataset

Definition

Fingerprint databases are structured collections of fingerprint data mainly used for either evaluation or operational recognition purposes.

Fingerprint data in databases for evaluation are usually detached from the identity of corresponding individuals. These databases are publicly available for research purposes, and they usually consist of raw fingerprint images acquired with live-scan sensors or digitized from inked fingerprint impressions on paper. Databases for evaluation are the basis for research in automatic fingerprint recognition, and together with specific experimental protocols, they are the basis for a number of technology evaluations and benchmarks. This is the type of fingerprint databases further covered here.

On the other hand, fingerprint databases for operational recognition are typically proprietary, they usually incorporate personal information about the enrolled people together with the fingerprint data, and they can incorporate either raw fingerprint image data or some form of distinctive fingerprint descriptors such as minutiae templates. These fingerprint databases represent one of the modules in operational automated fingerprint recognition systems, and they will not be adressed here.