Development of a Dundee Ground Truth imaging protocol for recording indoor crime scenes to facilitate virtual reality reconstruction

Virtual reality aiding fire scene investigation: A thankless endeavor or catalyst for change?

“…Consequently, research must provide validation for the imaging and scanning techniques intended to be used to generate the VEs. The assessment of the imaging techniques must thoroughly consider the type of scene and materials that may be present so as to comprehensively document the scene (Chase & Liscio, 2023;Yu et al, 2023).…”

“…Several solutions were tested within a series of simulated fire scenes which included, but were not limited to, photogrammetry, lidar scanners, Time-Of-Flight (ToF) sensors, and structured light scanners in simulated fire scenes. Being mindful of the recommendation of the National Academy of Science report (National Research Council, 2009), which encouraged the use of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), a specialized photogrammetric technique was devised to systematically image indoor scenes so that a virtual environment could be developed (Yu et al, 2023). This systematic protocol also met the requirements expressed in the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science report (OSAC, 2016).…”

“…A documentation team carried out the digitalization of the scenes before and after burning (Figure 2). The following equipment was used so that different acquisition methods could be compared: (1) a Leica RTC360 terrestrial laser system, (2) a Leica BLK2GO handheld mobile laser scanner, (3) a Matterport Pro2 3D Camera structured-light scanner, and (4) a digital single-lens reflex camera Canon EOS 5D Mark III to test the dedicated SOP (Yu et al, 2023). The resulting multi-modal dataset was used to validate the accuracy of the VEs enabling uncertainty of measurement in the virtual reconstruction to be determined (Principle 2).…”

Virtual reality for CSI training

“…Reconstructing a crime scene in VR requires tools to conduct multi-angle and omnidirectional three-dimensional spatial data collection of crime scenes, such as laser scanners or structured light scanners [16,17]. There is a need to implement a standard operating procedure (SOP) allowing the scene to be recreated in Virtual Reality (VR) [19]. The RISEN-project aims at bringing together the best practices of creating such a data collection (a digital twin of the crime scene) making use of all available sensor technology, taking steps forward such a SOP.…”

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“…UK researchers (Yu et al, 2023) point out that complex crime investigations often require both an interdisciplinary and interagency approach. This is especially true for the initial stage of the investigation when clear forensic strategies are needed, which involves the creation of a joint action plan that combines the knowledge and achievements of various disciplines, including the research of forensic practitioners.…”