Identification is performed in three parts. A picture is taken of the fingerprint. The fingerprint is then transformed into a numerical model which stores the fingerprint's unique characteristics, such as the arches and loops and their distance from each other, as a series of numbers.
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfaces such as glass or metal.
