Amped
User Days
2024 Agenda
February 27-29
The agenda includes technical sessions on the technology used in Amped products, discussions about new features, market insights, concepts and principles for the use of video evidence, and future development plans.
To cater to our users across different time zones, we will be conducting two sets of live sessions.
Day 1 - February 27
Raising Awareness About Video Evidence in the Criminal Justice System
Martino Jerian
CEO and Founder
Martino Jerian is the CEO and Founder of Amped Software. He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Trieste, Italy, where his thesis focused on forensic image processing. In 2008, he founded Amped Software, leading the development of advanced tools for image and video forensics. With a strong background in software engineering, he played a key role in designing and driving the initial development of the company’s products. Martino has been a contract professor in university courses on investigations, forensics, and intelligence. He has authored multiple scientific papers in the field of image and video forensics and has served as a forensic expert in high-profile judicial cases. His work bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and the pursuit of security and justice.
Forensic video analysts know the challenges posed by working on video evidence. However, most of the other stakeholders of the criminal justice system, such as policymakers, organization chiefs, first responders, judges, prosecutors, and attorneys, are often unaware of these challenges and don't seek expert assistance. This lack of awareness is problematic because video evidence is frequently and incorrectly perceived as "easy" to handle. To help users better communicate with other stakeholders, Amped Software prepared a document titled “Essential Concepts and Principles for the Use of Video Evidence for Public Safety and Criminal Justice” and presented it at the European Parliament in 2023. In this presentation, Martino Jerian will recap the main points of the document and discuss how to better exploit it to improve our industry and the safety of our communities.
DeepPlate: the New AI-powered License Plate Reader for Investigations (only!)
Marco Fontani
Forensics Director
Marco Fontani is the Forensics Director at Amped Software, a software company developing image and video forensic solutions for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
He earned his MSc in Computer Engineering in 2010 and his Ph.D. in Information Engineering in 2014. His research focused on image watermarking and multimedia forensics. He participated in several research projects funded by the EU and EOARD, and authored/co-authored over 30 journal and conference proceedings papers. He has experience in delivering training to law enforcement and provided expert witness testimony on several forensic cases involving digital images and videos. He is a former member of the IEEE Information Forensics and Security Technical Committee, and he actively contributed to the development of ENFSI’s Best Practice Manual for Image Authentication.
Reading license plates from noisy and poor-resolution videos is one of the main challenges for video forensic experts. Integrating many frames into a single denoised or super-resolution image is sometimes effective, but sometimes that's not enough. To help users crack this limit, Amped Software is proud to announce DeepPlate, an AI-based license plate reading system. DeepPlate is designed to handle the major defects introduced by CCTV systems, and it already supports license plates from several countries and states. Being AI-powered, we provide this tool as an aid for investigators and as a decision-support system, not for evidentiary use. This keynote shows how the tool works, how to access and use it, and the performance it obtained in our experimental evaluation.
Dive into the Amped Ecosystem, Training, Certification, and Beyond!
Blake Sawyer
US Operations Director
Blake joined Amped Software in 2019 when the Amped US branch was established. Before, he worked for the Plano Police Department, establishing the digital media unit of their Crime Scene Unit. As Amped’s US Operations Director, he ensures users in the US and Canada get the best help and service on a daily basis.
He is certified as a LEVA Forensic Video Analyst and an IAI Certified Forensic Video Examiner. Before joining Amped, he taught courses with LEVA (Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association) and served on their board. As part of his priority in helping video examiners better understand the scientific workflow of Video Forensics, he is the chair of the AI subcommittee for SWGDE (Scientific Working Group for Digital Evidence) and participates in the Video subcommittee at OSAC (Organization of Scientific Area Committees).
When he isn't working, he is most often found in the garage building a rocket powered by an old arcade machine to save the world from Space Invaders or driving his kids from one practice to another.
Being Amped users, many of you already have at least one tool from the Amped Software toolbox. This session will look at some changes we have rolled out recently and how these can help you manage your caseload effectively. We will also look at the new training sessions for when you want to dive deeper into your favorite tools or get some basic instruction on video evidence to help others in your agency. Lastly, we will examine the new certification program and how that can help "prove" you know your stuff. We might even give you a free answer or two.
A Case Study: Accuracy of Bruise Identification from Digital Imagery Using Image Enhancement
Michael Primeau
Co-Owner & Forensic Expert at Primeau Forensics
This session will examine the challenges with the application of image/video enhancement methodology for the identification of bruises within digital imagery. We will examine the results produced from a tool that was used to identify sub-dermal bruising from compressed images. Lastly, we will examine how Amped FIVE aided in understanding what the enhancement methodology was in preparation for a Daubert challenge.
Day 2 - February 28
Behind the Scenes of Video Evidence Conversion: Discover Amped Engine and the Latest Updates Within Amped Replay and DVRConv
Emiliano Polito
Forensic Analyst
Emi is an international Trainer at Amped Software and continues to assist Police forces, the CPS and criminal defense firms with the interpretation of video and audio evidence in court. He joined the Amped team in 2021. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of media and imagery and his CV also includes 10 years of employment as a technical director and senior video editor and engineer for a major international broadcaster based in London.
He is a LEVA Certified Forensic Video Analyst and a CCTV recovery, enhancement and analysis expert. He has worked as a forensic video/audio analyst and ISO17025 CCTV technical lead for a number of Police forces and leading forensic providers and has also provided testimony in court as an expert witness on several occasions in the southeastern region of the UK.
When he is not decoding proprietary video or conducting imagery analysis, you will find Emi on a tennis court attempting to be half as good at the sport as his teenage kid. He is also a keen guitar player with a passion for bush flying (and a few PPL hours under his belt).
In 2023 we released Amped Engine, the command-line-based application that can be integrated into third-party systems to support CCTV/DVR propriety video formats. In this presentation, you will learn how proprietary data is cleaned before conversion and the importance of this process for users and the Amped ecosystem. We will also discuss the command line structure of Amped Engine, which allows for full integration with existing in-force video triaging and storing solutions. Join us also for a recap of the latest features we have added to Amped Replay and Amped DVRConv. We will show you how easy and safe it now is to redact sound in Amped Replay and to hash input and output files in Amped DVRConv, amongst many other new exciting improvements.
Decode & Conquer: Mastering File Formats, Conversion, and Extraction of Proprietary Videos and Timestamps for Analysis and Speed Estimation
David Spreadborough
Forensic Analyst
David served as a UK Police Officer for 24 years, the final 12 of which were spent as a CCTV investigator. He was the first LEVA certified Forensic Video Analyst in Europe and remains one of only four outside of North America. Since working with Amped Software, David has provided a key role in the development of Amped Software’s technical training, as well as spreading his passion for jurisprudence reform through the latest technological innovations. He is still a practicing forensic video analyst and has frequently been called as an expert witness to assist legal teams and law enforcement with on-going criminal investigations.
The simplicity of the interface is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the conversion of video. Hidden underneath are years of continuous codec development in the lossless extraction of data from proprietary formats.
Why is this stream extraction process so important before formatting? What happens if it's not completed correctly? Please join us during this short presentation to have those questions, and maybe a few more, answered.
Amped FIVE Updates: A Year of Innovation in Your Complete Solution
Melissa Kimbrell
Trainer and Technical Support Specialist
Melissa Kimbrell has been a member of the Amped Software team as a Trainer and Technical Support Specialist since May 2022. Before coming to Amped Software, she worked as a Forensic Scientist focusing on Audio/Video Forensics and Photography at The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Austin, Texas, where she still lives.
She has taught the Main FIVE class, both online and in-person, and is always available to help users understand a proper workflow to process their video evidence. Melissa is a member of the Video and Imaging Technology and Analysis Subcommittee of the Digital Multimedia Scientific Area Committee (OSAC).
In the summer you can find her floating a river or whitewater rafting; in the winter, you can find her on the ski slopes. When she isn't in one of those places, she's doing a Peloton workout or cuddled up with her dogs and her firefighter husband.
We roll out new updates to all the tools in the Amped Software toolbox several times a year. This session will touch on all the updates we implemented into Amped FIVE in the last 12 months. Whether it's on import with batch convert DVR, during file analysis with our improved macroblocks filter, Smart Adjust to clarify your imagery, or the ability to list all file info and hashes for your project media in the Amped FIVE Report, these new features contribute to Amped FIVE being the only tool you need to propel your video evidence from the crime scene through to the courtroom.
Streamlining Evidence Processing and Empowering First Responders: How Amped Replay Transformed Avon & Somerset Police Investigations
David Matthews
Regional Forensic Video and Audio Manager at South West Forensics, UK
This presentation examines how Amped Replay empowered First Responders, Investigators, and Police Staff in Avon & Somerset to take control of their CCTV evidence processing and redaction. Replacing inefficient workflows and off-the-shelf tools, Replay equipped Police personnel with an intuitive, pre-configured capability, dramatically reducing reliance on an overburdened video forensics lab.
Day 3 - February 29
Looking Ahead: the Amped Roadmap for 2024 and Beyond!
Martino Jerian
CEO and Founder
Martino Jerian is the CEO and Founder of Amped Software. He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Trieste, Italy, where his thesis focused on forensic image processing. In 2008, he founded Amped Software, leading the development of advanced tools for image and video forensics. With a strong background in software engineering, he played a key role in designing and driving the initial development of the company’s products. Martino has been a contract professor in university courses on investigations, forensics, and intelligence. He has authored multiple scientific papers in the field of image and video forensics and has served as a forensic expert in high-profile judicial cases. His work bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and the pursuit of security and justice.
Given the increasing number of users, challenges posed by video evidence, and ongoing technological advancements, our research and development team must remain continuously active. One of our key focuses is prioritizing the development of new features, improvements of the existing ones, and the evolution of the software architecture.
In this presentation, we’ll provide an overview of Amped Software's plans for the next 12-18 months. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions and share your suggestions.
Amped Authenticate Video: Exciting New Features to Tackle Today's Video Challenges!
Stefano Bianchi
Trainer and Technical Support Specialist
Stefano holds a Master's Degree in Computer Engineering from Trieste University following his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering from Padua University. Stefano joined Amped Software in 2013 and has accumulated ten years of valuable experience at the company. During that time he was active as a Trainer and also contributed as part of the Technical Support team.
He oversees all training-related activities and processes, emphasizing the importance we place on education. His primary responsibility is to ensure that our product training sessions maintain the highest quality standards. Additionally, he recently supervised the launch of the Amped FIVE Certified Examiner certification, leveraging his eight years of experience in delivering training sessions globally to diverse users of all Amped products.
Before taking on this role, Stefano was a software developer with expertise in DVR video decoding and conversion. He was instrumental in managing the conversion engine feature within Amped products, which subsequently evolved into Amped Engine.
When he is not at his desk hacking or coding, he is always occupied with DIY projects, riding his motorcycle, or tinkering with it and other mechanical and electronic objects.
Nowadays, the volume of videos we watch is increasing. Moreover, the advent of manipulated and synthetic footage yields more and more doubt in what we see, and the relative tools available are cheaper and easier to use than ever before. Amped Authenticate is a product designed to identify signs of inconsistencies and manipulations in images. Recently, we have introduced an additional video mode that serves the same purpose for video files. The image and video modes are part of the same product to enhance media analysis and tampering capabilities. Please join us to attend the overview of its features and how we propose tackling this threat.
How to Detect Synthetic Images with Shadows and Reflections Analysis within Amped Authenticate
Massimo Iuliani
Forensic Analyst
Massimo Iuliani has been a member of the Amped Software team as a Forensic Analyst and Trainer since September 2023. In 2017, Massimo achieved a Ph.D. in Mathematics focused on image and video authentication topics. Before coming to Amped, he had worked for ten years within the Dept. of Information Engineering of the University of Florence, on research projects funded by the European Commission and DARPA. All projects were related to the authentication and reverse engineering of multimedia content.
He co-authored over 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences on multimedia forensics topics.
He has also provided testimony in court as an expert witness in Italy for the analysis and interpretation of image, video, and audio evidence.
Outside the forensic environment, Massimo is a music lover and producer. He is always looking for new links between sounds and feelings.
He supports musicians and songwriters in finding their true sound and bringing their music to light.
The availability of advanced tools for generating photorealistic synthetic images poses serious challenges to image authentication: these technologies are based on complex generation processes that keep evolving and are generally hard to model. For this reason, the analysis of synthetic media at the pixel level with state-of-the-art filters may lead to inconclusive results. Furthermore, when the media under analysis is found on a social network, the compression level can be strong enough to launder the residual signal-based clues.
However, available methods for synthetic image generation are (still) unable to create pictures that properly respect the physical rules introduced by linear projection occurring during the image acquisition pipeline. In this case, analyzing physical-based clues can be decisive in identifying such fake content.
In this presentation, we'll see how Amped Authenticate's filters can be effectively used to check shadows and vanishing points consistency within image content.
The Search for the Truth in Open Source Image-Based Evidence: Challenges, Limitations, and Opportunities
Dr. Jonathan W. Hak KC
Barrister and Solicitor, Law Lecturer, and Adjunct Associate Law Professor
Open-source image-based evidence emanates from a broad variety of sources and has proven to be of potential value in international and domestic criminal investigations and prosecutions. Some of these images are trustworthy while many are not. This presentation will examine the importance of technical image interrogation, evaluating reliability, assessing authentication, and the need for expert analysis. These foundational topics will be approached from a legal perspective. Brief mention will also be made of Image-Based Evidence in International Criminal Prosecutions: Charting a Path Forward, published by Oxford University Press and available this month.