FBI compression standard for digitized fingerprint images
Christopher M. Brislawn, Jonathan N. Bradley, Remigius J. Onyshczak, Thomas Hopper · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1996
The FBI has formulated national standards for digitization and compression of gray-scale fingerprint images. The compression algorithm for the digitized images is based on adaptive uniform scalar quantization of a discrete wavelet transform subband decomposition, a technique referred to as the wavelet/scalar quantization method. The algorithm produces archival-quality images at compression ratios of around 15 to 1 and will allow the current database of paper fingerprint cards to be replaced by digital imagery. A compliance testing program is also being implemented to ensure high standards of image quality and interchangeability of data between different implementations. We will review the current status of the FBI standard, including the compliance testing process and the details of the first-generation encoder.