2015/03/04

Reuters March 3, 2015: Forensic holodeck creates 3D crime scenes

Star Trek's virtual reality 'holodeck' has come a step closer to reality, thanks to researchers from the University of Zurich.

Led by researcher Lars Ebert, the team at the university's Institute of Forensic Medicine, have created what they say is the first system in the world to visualize the 3D data of forensic scans. The team's creation, called the Forensic Holodeck, could be used in criminal trials by offering accurate three-dimensional interpretations of CCTV footage. The team has already been called upon by Swiss prosecutors to help convict a gunman who fired at police in an internet cafe.

The system uses an Oculus Rift headset, in conjunction with an optical tracker called OptiTrack. A 3D scanner, Autodesk 3DS Max software, and Unity 3D gaming software help the team create their forensic reconstructions.

Radiologist Steffen Ross says the department's other invention - the Virtobot - is already used to provide virtual autopsies of bodies, without the need to open them up.

"The first step would be to do the data acquisition which we use a 3D scanner for," said Ross. "We scan the crime scene and we are also able to scan the dead body, if there is a dead body involved, and then we can put all the data together in the computer and create a virtual crime scene, which is a 3D model of the crime scene, so a re-enactment of the crime."

Ross insists the Forensic Holodeck is unique. "It's the first system ever used in the whole world to visualize the 3D data of forensic scans in this way, so nobody else ever did it before," he told Reuters. more