Archives

WASHINGTON, Wednesday (AFP) Handwriting is unique to each individual and could be used to identify a person with certainty, according to US researchers, who have developed software that could soon be used by the US justice system.

A study by the scientists from the University of Buffalo will be published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences in July.

The study was cited last month by a federal court in Pennsylvania that allowed expert testimony based on the scientists' findings to be presented.

The software is capable of determining with 96-percent certainty if two documents have been written by the same person or different people, the researchers said.

It was developed on the basis of an analysis that identified features from each of the 1,500 handwriting samples collected by the research team.

The software is capable of distinguishing 11 specific elements of handwriting and 512 characteristics of individual letters.

"We set out to answer on a scientific basis the question: 'Is the handwriting of different individuals truly distinct?' The answer is 'Yes,'" said Sargur Srihari, director of the Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition at the University of Buffalo. 

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager