Aim & Scope

The group promotes exchange and research in the field of Computational Forensics, mainly through:

  • International forum, the IWCF workshops, to peer-review and exchange research results
  • Performance evaluation, benchmarking and standardization of algorithms and computational procedures
  • Resources in forms of data sets, software tools, and specifications e.g. data formats and system interfaces 
  • Education and training to prepare current and future researchers and practitioners
  • Sources of information on events, related activities and financing opportunities

Forensic methods are widespread in the scientific disciplines: biology, chemistry, physics and medicine. One can categorize them into:

  • Classical forensic identification sciences based on individualization (to identify a finger, a writer, a weapon, a shoe that left the mark)
  • Practical-oriented disciplines based on classification and quantization (chemical, biological, medical, or physical methods) like forensic toxicology
 

Computational methods for application in the forensic sciences are studied under three perspectives:

  • Providing tools to support the forensic examiner in his / her daily casework
  • Establishing the scientific basis for a forensic discipline
  • Representing human expert knowledge and for implementing recognition and reasoning abilities in machines

Algorithms and methods from several areas of pattern recognition and machine intelligence are involved:

  • Signal processing / Image processing
  • Computer vision 
  • Computer graphics
  • Pattern recognition
  • Data mining
  • Robotics
  • Machine learning
  • Statistical Methods
Forensic sciences pose exceptional challenges for current pattern-recognition approaches
  • Tiny pieces of evidence that are hidden in a chaotic environment, crime scene or scene of accident
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  • Study of specific properties (abnormalities)
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  • Demand of a (somehow) sufficient quality of trace evidence found
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  • Never identical traces, the limit/lack of appropriate reference samples
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  • Partial knowledge, required approximation
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  • Decision making under uncertainties & conjectures
 
More detailed information on the motivation and mission statement can be found in the Application for IAPR Technical Committee