A new technique for identification of questioned signatures: Copyright granted to Panjab University
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 23,2025
It is matter of great pride and joy that Panjab University, Chandigarh has been granted a Copyright from Government of India for development of novel software in the field of forensic science. A team of researchers led by Professor Kewal Krishan, Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model for identifying questioned signatures on important documents. Damini Siwan, Rakesh Meena, Ankita Guleria, Nandini Chitara, Ritika Verma, Akansha Rana, Ayushi Srivastava were involved in accomplishing this project. Professor Abhik Ghosh, and Dr. Vishal Sharma also guided various aspects of the project. Damini Siwan and Rakesh Meena were instrumental in managing and organizing the customized model. Damini Siwan is a forensic expert pursuing PhD from Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology and specializing in artificial intelligence and its applications in crime scene investigation and forensic examinations. Rakesh Meena is a leading questioned document examiner and pursing his PhD from Department of Anthropology on the application of AI in forged and real signatures.
The new model will be helpful in identifying the forged and real signatures in forensic examinations.The model was developed using a deep learning technique named convolution neural network (CNN) for identifying questioned signatures. The model was trained directly on 1400 images of signatures, where 700 images belong to real signatures while other 700 belong to forged signatures. Out of 1400 images, the software can tell us whether the signature is real or forgedwith 84.5% accuracy. This technique has potential to identify signatures which are under investigation in forensic science laboratories/institutes and can aid other questioned document examiners to identify signatures in less time and with more accuracy.
Professor Krishan, who is a renowned forensic scientist, started working on the applications of AI in forensics in the beginning of 2024 with his research team. The main goal of the research team is to develop AI software/models so that the new models may help in forensic research and crime scene investigation. Ultimately, the burden of forensic scientists may be reduced to some extent for the preliminary examination in crime scene investigation. The research team is grateful to the honorable Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Professor Renu Vig for encouraging the development of novel techniques in research and their Intellectual Property Rights.
