Brightness and Contrast Controllable Fingerprint Image Enhancement Based on Histogram Specification

Abstract

The forensic scientists have used fingerprints in criminal investigations as a means of identification for centuries. Fingerprint identification is one of the most important criminal investigation tools due to two features: their persistence and their uniqueness. A person’s fingerprints do not change over time. The friction ridges which create fingerprints are formed while inside the womb and grow proportionally as the baby grows. Permanent scarring is the only way a fingerprint can change. In addition, fingerprints are unique to an individual. Even identical twins have different fingerprints. This project is about image enhancement which can be applied to enhancing fingerprint images, so that the investigation could move forward in a better way, that is, by helping to identify the owner of the fingerprint during fingerprint matching. To achieve this, a specific image enhancement technique is used to achieve a better result. Histogram specification is used in which there are two parameters k1 and k2 which can be used to modify the brightness and contrast of the fingerprint image.