Virtual Reality as a Collaborative Tool for Digitalised Crime Scene Examination

Abstract

Crime scene investigation is a multidisciplinary response that involves the identification and securing of physical and trace material that may have evidential value. In this context, accurate documentation of the scene(s) is fundamental, when subsequent analysis is required for comparison and evaluative purposes.This technical note reports a virtual reality framework developed in Unity 3D targeting a low-cost Virtual Reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD), which enables the exploration of virtualized crime scenes and supports collaborative investigation through an online shared repository of 3D reconstructions. The system is agnostic at the source, implying that several types of 3D imaging sensors can provide recording of the scenes. Data are presented via an immersive virtualroaming VR application to enhance spatial perception and telepresence. The virtualized environment is accompanied by original photographs and reference information, enabling validation and contextualization of the three-dimensional spatial data. The developed framework was employed in the context of a training operation spread between Scotland, UK and Denmark, demonstrating the feasibility of the deployment of the platform independent of location at the early stages of a forensic investigation.

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

“…A dedicated pipeline was devised to optimize the generation of 3D models. The user requirements, such as a custom inputs system and virtual tools, were incorporated through the development of dedicated software (Rinaldi et al, 2022) to address Principle 3. The devised software application was developed for a royalty‐free open standard (The Khronos Group Inc, 2024) to support a wide set of VR devices and distributed to the participants who contributed to the data collection.…”

“…In addition to qualitative information (feedback questionnaires, focus groups and workshop results), it is also critical to obtain measurable information about the practical use of these technologies from end users. Therefore, studies aimed at quantitatively identifying the value and estimating the effectiveness of the proposed technologies are imperative and should be scrutinized and reviewed by peers to assess their validity (Rinaldi et al, 2024).…”