An automated method of identifying a person by fingerprint recognition, consisting in: - producing a digital photograph (at 11) giving a digitized image of a fingerprint or part of a fingerprint present on a surface of an object; - analyzing said digitized image of the fingerprint; - detecting characteristic points therein; - exchanging the digital data of the detected characteristic points with a data bank storing digital data of the characteristic points of a multiplicity of fingerprints in its memory, said stored digital data corresponding to plane images of the multiplicity of fingerprints; - comparing the digital data of the abovementioned detected characteristic points with the digital data stored in the memory of the data bank; and - identifying a person possessing said fingerprint as a result of the above comparison, characterized in that, when the fingerprint is on a curved surface, the method comprises further the following steps: - selecting a pre-established model of a curved semi-cylindrical or semi-conical surface of revolution having a shape corresponding to or close to the shape of the curved surface or of a portion of the curved surface, to which the fingerprint is fixed, - in the case where the curved surface appears into the digital image in the form of a semi-cylindrical or semi-conical of revolution, providing to algorithm processing means information about the respective positions of the two diametrically opposed generatrices visible in the digitized image whereby the algorithm processing means deduce the geometric characteristic of the curved surface, - projecting onto a plane said digital image to obtain a corrected digital image with a distortion level below a predetermined threshold, using said algorithm processing means, said corrected image showing in a plane the characteristic points of said fingerprint, - using said plane corrected image for detecting the characteristic points of the fingerprint and for identifying the person. - producing a digital photograph (at 11) giving a digitized image of a fingerprint or part of a fingerprint present on a surface of an object; - analyzing said digitized image of the fingerprint; - detecting characteristic points therein; - exchanging the digital data of the detected characteristic points with a data bank storing digital data of the characteristic points of a multiplicity of fingerprints in its memory, said stored digital data corresponding to plane images of the multiplicity of fingerprints; - comparing the digital data of the abovementioned detected characteristic points with the digital data stored in the memory of the data bank; and - identifying a person possessing said fingerprint as a result of the above comparison, characterized in that, when the fingerprint is on a curved surface, the method comprises further the following steps: - selecting a pre-established model of a curved semi-cylindrical or semi-conical surface of revolution having a shape corresponding to or close to the shape of the curved surface or of a portion of the curved surface, to which the fingerprint is fixed, - in the case where the curved surface appears into the digital image in the form of a semi-cylindrical or semi-conical of revolution, providing to algorithm processing means information about the respective positions of the two diametrically opposed generatrices visible in the digitized image whereby the algorithm processing means deduce the geometric characteristic of the curved surface, - projecting onto a plane said digital image to obtain a corrected digital image with a distortion level below a predetermined threshold, using said algorithm processing means, said corrected image showing in a plane the characteristic points of said fingerprint, - using said plane corrected image for detecting the characteristic points of the fingerprint and for identifying the person.