Forensic metrology – the needs of law enforcement and security to capture existing-conditions data – was the focus of a well-attended new track at SPAR 2006. Presentations vividly illuminated how 3D laser scanning technologies, both terrestrial and close-range, are aiding crime scene investigations and accident reconstruction cases. Attendees saw numerous examples of the quality, completeness, speed and safety advantages of high-data-density optical metrology over traditional methods, and heard how evidence gathered with laser scanning has crossed the admissibility threshold in criminal and civil courts in numerous jurisdictions in both the U.S. and Europe.
Carl Adrian, Visual Information Specialist – Examiner, Laboratory Division, from the FBI's Special Projects Unit (SPU) in Quantico, VA keynoted the sessions. Duncan Lees, 3D Team Leader with Plowman Craven & Associates, Harpenden, UK; Willem van Spanje, Managing Director of DelftTech BV, Delft, The Netherlands; and Steven Schorr, President of DJS Associates, Abington, PA, and Andrew Durian, Accident Reconstruction Specialist with DJS, also presented. Moderator was Paul Francis, Vice President of Northway-Photomap Inc., Toronto, Canada.
Figure 1: Carl Adrian, Visual Information Specialist – Examiner, Laboratory Division, Special Projects Unit (SPU), FBI, examines 3D print to be used for skull reconstruction. The 3D print was created from close-range submillimeter-accuracy scans of recovered skeletal remains.
Image courtesy FBI
