What is AFIX Tracker?
AFIX Tracker is a Multi-Modal Automated Biometric Identification System that includes fingerprint, palmprint and facial* searching capabilities. AFIX Tracker has been developed and updated with guidance from latent print examiners around the world for more than 25 years and has been deployed in hundreds of agencies.
*upgrade to AFIX Tracker FR required.
Capabiliies and Benefits
- Fully NIST/EFTS compliant
- Distributed search engine technology provides complete search performance and capability
- Automatically conducts reverse searches of all new known records against latent prints and unknown faces
- Utilizes AFIX Remote Search to collaborate with other agencies and conduct searches of Remote AFIX databases
- Processes faces that are low resolution, occluded, off pose, poorly lit or feature a unique expression
- Small face template size that saves hardware resources
- Developed using convolutional neural networks and deep learning frameworks for improved face matching capability
Attested by hundreds of law enforcement agencies, crime labs and correctional facilities
Easy to install & maintain
Can support a wide array of database sizes and can easily expand
Training will equip users to fully utilize all system components
10 User-defined data fields in each grid
Features & Benefits
Easy and Flexible Entry of All Record Types
Interfaces with livescan systems from all major providers for “lights-out” transmission of fingerprint, palm print, and mugshot photos recorded during booking Provided with FBI Appendix-F compliant flatbed scanners allowing fast and high-quality scanned entry of known prints, latent prints, and facial images Accepts digital photos of all record types and in a wide range of image formats including .bmp, .tif, .jpeg, .j2k, .png, and many others Fully FBI/NIST EBTS-compliant and can import EBTS records from all NIST-compliant systemsPowerful and Accurate Matching of Latent Prints and Unknown Faces
- Employs robust matching algorithms for both friction-ridge (finger, palm, latent) and facial image matching which allow the use of evidence that may not be considered “of sufficient value” by other systems
- Friction-ridge algorithms allow searching and matching of latent prints with as few as four identifiable minutiae features
- Facial matching algorithms are among the most accurate in the industry, providing the ability to effectively utilize poor quality, off-angle, and occluded or partially obscured facial images. Also provides matching of images with a wide age variance
Scalable Search/Match Performance
- Employs a distributed search process which is scalable over multiple processors and/or networked dedicated servers. Multiple instances of the AFIX Engine application may be employed as “client” engines controlled by a “master” engine which, when combined with the appropriate systems resources, provides the ability to scale search performance to virtually any level.
- The base system includes one AFIX Engine master and one client, each configured address separate processor cores.
- The number of clients may be customized for each implementation. The search performance examples below are based upon a current PC-based system configuration searching a latent print against a database of standard 14-image fingerprint records including rolled and plain impressions:
| 25,000 records | 300,000 records | 1,000,000 records |
| 1 AFIX Engine Master & 1 Engine Client | 1 AFIX Engine Master & 24 Engine Clients | 1 AFIX Engine Master & 82 Engine Clients |
| Search completed within 4 minutes | Search completed within 4 minutes | Search completed within 4 minutes |
| 25,000 records |
| 1 AFIX Engine Master & 1 Engine Client |
| Search completed within 4 minutes |
| 300,000 records |
| 1 AFIX Engine Master & 24 Engine Clients |
| Search completed within 4 minutes |
| 1,000,000 records |
| 1 AFIX Engine Master & 82 Engine Clients |
| Search completed within 4 minutes |
Court Charting & Reporting
AFIX Tracker provides multiple choices for printed output of matching results including varied court charting and stereo comparison options and customizable data reporting.Sizing Options
Sizing Options to Fit Every Database Size
AFIX Tracker Bronze
Database up to 5K recordsAFIX Tracker Silver
Database up to 25K recordsAFIX Tracker Gold
Database up to 100K recordsAFIX Tracker Platinum
Databases 100K+ records (requires SQL Server and HardwareAll functions supported on a single workstation
- Enrollment via flatbed scanner
- Latent Entry
- Search / search review
- Interfaces to other systems
- Courtroom presentation document output
- System management
AFIX Differentiator
Remote Search Functionality
AFIX Remote Search provides cloud-based search collaboration between agencies with minimal effort. Access to the Internet is all you need to enable your AFIX Tracker system to send search requests and receive results from other agencies on the AFIX Remote Search network.
Aware takes security seriously. Not only does your AFIX Tracker system utilize HTTPS (SSL) secure connections, we also include full 256-bit AES encryption of all files prior to transmission.
This technology also provides the ability to securely connect to remote live scan systems for integration with your AFIX Tracker system.
AFIX Tracker
Remote Search jobs are submitted in the same way as a standard local search job, using the familiar “Search Wizard” interface. Similarly, Remote Search results are viewed in AFIX Tracker’s Stereo Comparison screen allowing users to use Remote Search with zero learning curve.
AFIX Engine
The AFIX Engine(s) at the remote agency will process incoming search jobs for all requesting agencies to whom they have provided permission. Incoming Remote Search jobs are assigned lower priority so they will not impact local search performance.
- The Originating Agency (ORI) uses AFIX Tracker to upload a search request to the mailbox of an agency that is registered on their Destination Agency (DAI) list.
- The Destination Agency’s AFIX Tracker sees the request in its mailbox and downloads it.
- AFIX Engine processes the search request and encrypts and uploads the results to the Originating Agency’s mailbox.
- The Originating Agency sees the response in its mailbox and downloads it, populating the search results screen with the contents of the response.
AFIX Differentiator
Regional Clusters -Remote Search/Data Collaboration
In addition to searching their own local data, AFIX Tracker systems may submit encrypted searches to other individual local agencies’ AFIX databases and receive results via the AFIX Remote Message Server (RMS).
In some areas regional databases have been established in larger agencies (usually County Sheriffs) to consolidate bookings from nearby AFIX Tracker systems and from some agencies with only live scan systems – some of which are lower-level offenses not reported to the state. The regional “cluster” concept allows the participating agencies to focus searches at the local level as well as searching the comprehensive regional collections in a single search/response transaction.
SQL Server
EBTS files, meta data and search results are held on SQL Server. AFIX Face may also be hosted on this server or on a network workstation to process incoming records and search requests.
Dedicated Engine Box (DEB)
DEBs are processor-dense systems which host multiple AFIX Engine clients to facilitate the distributed processing of search tasks. DEBs may be configured and combined to provide scalability for large databases.
Testimonials
The AFIX system is the most stable network of computers we have, requiring little to no maintenance. Since implementation of the Verifier, our prisoner release error rate has gone to zero for over two years. Our ability to identify prisoners with the Identifier has expedited the intake process and offers a one-stop shop for users to print out print cards when they are needed. The method of integration between our RMS for demographics and mug photos and our livescan for biometrics is seamless. The users only need to press a button to export the data from RMS and roll the fingerprints for capture. The import, index, storage and backup of data is all automatic and needs no human intervention at all.
Irving Police Department, Texas
They provide immediate, helpful, and friendly customer support. The IT department is top notch and is always available to answer questions big or small. It’s wonderful that a person actually answers your calls and not some long automated phone system! We’ve been happy Tracker users for five years…and we are looking forward to many more!
Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Mississippi
This kind of investigative ability allows our agency to be more self-reliant and lessen our dependence on other agencies, while at the same time provide assistance for other law enforcement departments in our area. This technology is a great addition to our department.
Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama
We had 32 AFIX hits in only one month and over half were from palms!!! We are keeping our detectives busy making arrests.
Pensacola Police Department, Florida
The AFIX system quickly became an invaluable tool in the management of fingerprint data.
Mattoon Police Department, Illinois
Since 1996, we have only seen a couple of fingerprint cases go to court. Over the last year our agency has made over 50 idents. We also use AFIX Tracker for side-by-side comparisons of footwear and gloves to help jurors see the connection.
Gulfport Police Department, Mississippi
To date, we have had 38 hits out of 130 cases entered. I highly recommend AFIX Tracker and am delighted with the results we have gotten so far. We are looking forward to a very prosperous new year.
Rock Island Police Department, Illinois
Our agency recently solved a 2 year, 3-month-old case using AFIX Tracker, and the bad guy finally got arrested.
Wise County Sheriff’s Department, Texas
We have had several cases where AFIX Tracker was essential to the investigation. The first is a case where an unknown suspect was stealing cars, keeping them for a few days, and dumping them in various locations around town. He would always steal cars in which the keys were left in them or he would steal new cars off of dealerships by prying open the lock boxes attached to the windows. A Tracker hit led to identifying the suspect and subsequently charging him with nine counts of Auto Theft and three counts of UB&E of a vehicle…
Tuscaloosa Police Department, Alabama
The night before we were getting our new AFIX system installed, our officers were involved in a chase with two carjacking suspects. The individuals fled our jurisdiction and became involved with the State Patrol, who eventually caught up with them seconds after they wrecked the car. The two individuals fled on foot but left behind some valuable evidence. Our crime scene technicians were able to develop latent fingerprints on the exterior of the vehicle. We entered the latent lifts into our new AFIX Tracker system and in less than a minute we had a potential match. Were it not for our new AFIX Tracker system, this case may have taken weeks, if not months, to bring to a successful close.
Brookhaven Police Department, Georgia
The advantage of utilizing AFIX Tracker is your ability to set your search criteria, and your ability to control the quality of the images in the database.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Florida