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A technique for generating three-dimensional Identikit pictures of suspected
criminals on a computer is being patented by Synthonics of Westlake Village in
California (WO 97/42609). The witness looks through a library of a thousand
head-and-shoulders templates and chooses the closest. The template appears on
the screen as a wire frame built from a pattern of dots joined by lines. This is
then electronically covered with flesh and skin of a texture and colour chosen
by the witness from a palette. The finished model can be rotated and viewed at
any angle.