Past, present, and future of craniofacial superimposition: Literature and international surveys.
In this manuscript, the past, present and future of the identification of human remains based on craniofacial superimposition is reviewed. An analysis of the different technological approaches developed over time is offered in conjunction with a new classification based on the technology implemented throughout the diverse phases of the process. The state of the art of the technique, in the academic and forensic realms, is reflected in an extensive international survey that includes over one hundred experts worldwide. The results of the survey indicate the current relative importance of the technique, despite of its controversial nature within the scientific community. Finally, the future challenges to be faced to justify the use of this technique for either profiling, exclusion or identification purposes are discussed.
Physical Anthropology Lab, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: maribel88@ugr.es.
Maria Isabel
MI
Huete
European Centre for Soft Computing, Mieres, Asturias, Spain; Dept. of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (DECSAI), University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Oscar
O
Ibáñez
Face Lab, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
Caroline
C
Wilkinson
Disaster Victim Identification Unit, Division of Identification and Forensic Sciences, Israel Police, Israel.
Tzipi
T
Kahana
D056667:Biometric Identification / Q000379:methods*; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018732:Forensic Anthropology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods*; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
Computer-aided superimposition; Craniofacial superimposition; MEPROCS; Photographic superimposition; Video superimposition