Crime scene evidence collection as a Virtual Reality use case

Abstract

"Virtual Reality (VR) is an interface strategy that completely immerses the user into a virtual environment. Users with head mounted displays (HMD) see and hear the immersive space as if they are no longer in the real world. Instead they are fully wrapped in the surroundings of the virtual space. While VR has been around for many years, recent advances in commercial technology have provided a surge of costeffective devices to mainstream end-users. With this surge in hardware availability, software developers have been exploring ways to make use of VR to design engaging training experiences. This paper describes the creation of a VR simulation to train the investigative mindset relative to evidence collection tasks at a crime scene. Spatial orientation within a crime scene is critical to understand blood splatter, munitions trajectory and to conceptually re-create events in the crime scene. This paper will explain the challenges and solutions of developing this VR experience. Finally, the paper will provide lessons learned and recommended future development involving this VR training application."