Production of 3D fingertip replicas using a 3D scanning-3D printing-casting strategy

3D scans of fingerprints can be more informative than their conventional 2D counterparts by measuring a finger's profile and its fingerprint ridge patterns. Capturing finger profiles may be advantageous for identifying individuals whose fingerprints have been altered or hidden or whose hands are of a unique structure. We establish a novel pipeline for producing silicone fingerprint replicas with sufficient detail to spoof a commercially available, low-cost fingerprint sensor to demonstrate that a single contactless 3D scan can capture a finger's ridge patterns and profile simultaneously with high fidelity. This pipeline employs a scanning-printing-casting (SPC) strategy: A laboratory-made structured-light 3D scanner obtains 3D fingerprints within half a second. Molds of the digitized fingerprints are 3D modeled and printed, and silicone is poured into the molds and allowed to cure to complete the fingerprint replication process.