TENDERS

The Directorate of Forensic Science intends to procure Integrated Ballistic Identification System, Bullet Trax and Brass Trax for its laboratories. The draft specifications are hereby placed for suggestions/comments. Perspective vendors/manufacturers/suppliers of such system world wide are requested to offer their comments/suggestions latest by October 15, 2007.

Specifications for
Integrated Ballistics Identification System

1. System Architecture & Physical Characteristics
  • The system shall run on the Microsoft® Windows operating system.
  • The correlation engine shall run on the LINUX or Windows operating system.
  • The Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) shall be based on the Oracle® database.
  • The system shall be available as a turn-key package, fully integrated and ready for operation.
  • The system shall include an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system that enables a controlled and secure system shutdown following a power failure.
  • The system shall provide facilities for simultaneous acquisition and analysis.
  • The system shall be capable of acquiring and correlating simultaneously.
  • The system shall support additional local as well as remote data acquisition and result viewing stations.
  • The system shall be capable of managing, storing, backing up and restoring at least 100,000 exhibits.
  • The system shall provide an intuitive and easy-to-use online help system.
  • The system shall maximize the use of automation and minimize user intervention for functions such as lighting adjustment, focus, shoulder demarcation, and striation orientation.
  • The system shall provide data back up facilities for offline storage of all data.
  • The system shall provide the means to be calibrated periodically.

2. Acquisition of Bullets

  • The system shall be capable of acquiring images of pristine bullets automatically.
  • The system shall generate a three-dimensional topographic image of the bullet surface and at a submicron resolution.
  • The system shall also capture a two-dimensional gray scale image of the surface topology simultaneously when the three-dimensional topology is being captured.
  • The system shall render photo-like images of the bullet surface using a computer software generated variable light source.
  • The system shall correlate and sort test bullets relative to a reference bullet.
  • The system shall automatically delimit the shoulders between the land engraved areas and the groove engraved areas of a bullet.
  • The system shall capture and display the full surface area of the scanned band.
  • The system shall acquire the full spectrum of bullet calibers from 0.22 to 0.45. The selection of calibers will include European as well as international caliber designations.
  • The system shall measure and display the depth of the bullet striations at a submicron resolution.
  • The system shall generate and display a cross-sectional view of the surface of the bullet.
  • The system shall provide the means of generating a report or display on the number of consecutive matching striations on a test bullet and a reference bullet.

3. Acquisition of Cartridge Cases

  • The system shall acquire images of the breech face mark and center fire firing pin impression on cartridge cases automatically.
  • The system shall provide the means to acquire images of the ejector mark on cartridge cases.
  • The system shall generate a single image capture with a minimal resolution of 960 by 960 pixels, for each acquired image
  • The system shall automatically delimit breech face marks and center fire firing pin impressions.
  • The system shall provide the means to acquire images of the rim fire type firing pin impression on cartridge cases.
  • The system shall optionally acquire images of the complete cartridge case head stamp automatically.
  • The system shall optionally generate a three-dimensional topographic representation of the breech face mark and center fire firing pin impression automatically.
  • The system shall be capable of displaying an image with both the breech face mark and center fire firing pin impression in focus.
  • The system shall acquire images of the breech face mark using annular lighting for the primary image and oblique lighting for the secondary image.
  • The system shall be capable of acquiring at least five images per center fire cartridge case.
  • The system shall acquire the full spectrum of cartridge case calibers, from 0.22 to 10 gauge. The selection of calibers will include European as well as international caliber designations.

4. Correlation

  • The system shall be able to correlate, score, and rank each captured mark independently of one another.
  • The system shall correlate by image type independently of the other images for that piece of evidence.
  • The system shall provide a mathematical value (score) for a correlated exhibit and shall provide the means to view the scores.
  • The system shall be capable of automatically correlating characteristic marks of newly acquired exhibits against a database of similar marks and display a ranked list of the most similar exhibits.
  • The system shall permit manual correlation requests based on modified data filters.
  • The system shall prioritize correlation requests to ensure high-profile exhibits are moved to the front of the queue.
  • The system shall correlate an exhibit of unknown caliber against groups of calibers. Bullets must be correlated based on nominal dimensions while cartridge cases must be correlated based on chamber characteristics.
  • The system shall provide a numerical score for each acquired and correlated mark on the cartridge case to assist operators in identifying possible matches.
  • The system shall provide aggregate numerical scores from the land engraved areas of a bullet to assist operators in identifying possible matches.

5. Viewing and Analysis

  • The system shall display images in a tile format for pre-screening correlation results.
  • The system shall display side-by-side photo-like images of a reference and a test cartridge case when performing analysis of correlation results.
  • The system shall display side-by-side photo-like images of a reference and a test bullet when performing analysis of correlation results.
  • The system shall display selected markings in a side-by-side format for comparison purposes.
  • The system shall provide tools to allow an operator to merge, separate, rotate, and offset images for comparison purposes.
  • The system shall store and allow the retrieval of related details such as unique sample identifier, case reference, police reference, offence date, caliber, and general rifling characteristics.
  • The system will allow the viewing of images at multiple magnifications.
  • The system will allow automatic alignment of the exhibits in their best matching orientation.
  • The system must allow compared images to be saved under JPEG2000, PNG, and RAW formats.
  • The system must allow the operator to select between two-dimensional and three-dimensional images during bullet analysis.
  • The system shall be able to provide topographic profile graphics for comparison of bullet images.
  • The system shall be able to provide a means of counting and displaying matching striations between bullets during comparisons.
  • The system shall provide for dynamic lighting of images in the tile screen or side-by-side comparison modes.
  • The system shall be able to display three-dimensional data, two-dimensional data or a combination of both in Bullet images. This rendering of both data types shall be dynamic.

6. Networking

  • The system shall have networking capability over a TCP/IP local area network.
  • The system shall operate over industry-standard data communication lines, including both narrowband and broadband.
  • The system shall operate efficiently within a multi-tiered network architecture that will enable multiple systems to be installed on a local, regional and/or nationwide basis.
  • The transfer of information and data replication over the network shall be automated or with minimal user intervention.
  • The system shall support both local and decentralized evidence database structures
  • The system shall transfer compressed images to optimize network bandwidth requirements.
  • The system shall support a centralized and a distributed database and correlation architecture.

7. Security

  • The system shall support a configurable password security system that includes, but is not limited to, the following rules:
    • Password invalidation after several login attempts;
    • Password length constraint;
    • Password expiration;
    • Password masking;
    • Password history constraint;
    • Password-protected screen saver;
    • User re-authentication following system inactivity after a period has lapsed.
  • The system shall maintain an audit trail for the following types of events:
    • Login attempts by all users;
    • All database transactions, including the creation, modification, and deletion of records.
  • The system shall support centralized authentication and authorization of all users.
  • The system shall prohibit concurrent logins by one user.
  • The system shall display a security notice prior to user login.
  • The system shall limit user access to the main application on the workstation.
  • The system shall support a virus protection system capable of receiving periodic updates.

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Website Updated on: 28 september 2007
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