Methods to Characterize 3D Scanners for Forensic Applications

Abstract

Forensic photography has been one of the most valuable tool for investigators over many decades. They preserve the history of the scene and provide a way for investigators to analyze the scene of interest. However, it is difficult to obtain any objective measurements with high confidence from such photographs. 3D scanning instruments such as LIDARs/terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), structured light scanners (SLS) and photogrammetry instruments digitize the scene of interest and offer a way for investigators to revisit the scene. Such capability is crucial for investigators as the access to the scene of interest and time may be limited to perform a thorough investigation. In this talk, we will discuss the errors and accuracy of TLSs and other efforts to characterize the performance of TLS systems to ensure that they meet the needs of the forensics community.