Digital vehicle identity – Digital VIN in forensic and technical practice

Abstract

The basic subject of the article is the issue of digital vehicle identification, which can be especially utilised for forensic, technical and administrative purposes. The article is based on a three-year research of newly produced vehicles over the course of years 2018–2021 at the Police academy in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Over 250 vehicle models from 43 manufacturers worldwide have been researched for the various characteristics of their digital identifiers. The article defines the terms of public and non-public digital vehicle identifiers and explores their basic properties – their placement in vehicle components, their quantities, repeatability, structure, informational content, protective elements, the issue of their permanence, suitable protocols and reading devices, particularities and practical utility. The paper deals with the issue of digital VIN, which is identified as Vehicle Identification, periodically placed in digital form on the various components of the vehicle. The article compares the markings (via digital identifiers) of the individual components in the vehicles from selected vehicle manufacturers from around the world. The article describes the positives and negatives of using digital identifiers in practice in the current form and recommends further procedures for introducing these progressive identification methods into everyday forensics.