The University of New Haven's Henry Lee Forensics Center will be partnering with Beijing's China University on a new global crime research center, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The schools will partner on cutting-edge research projects involving DNA testing, fingerprinting and 3D imaging. University of New Haven says that the partnership will lead to major breakthroughs in crime scene technology.

The team is also developing robots that can help work a crime scene.

"We see a shoeprint. The crime scene robot can tell you, say, how to enhance it," says Dr. Henry Lee, criminal investigations expert.

The center also has a $200,000 machine that will be capable of matching a DNA sample in just over an hour, a task that typically takes three days.

"In the amount of time someone's being questioned at the police department, you could get an answer," says Elaine Pagliaro, forensic scientist at University of New Haven.

According to Dr. Lee, the center will also have access to China's crime databases, allowing both countries to track international weapons, smugglers and drug dealers.