#Forensic Stuff
11 messages in this thread
Can anyone (or everyone) point me to messages, articles and examples of
forensic applications of 3D studion? I am helping a lawyer friend of mine
learn about it. If anyone has any examples of theings they have done in FLC
format or articles in magazines or correspondence here, I would appreciate
it!
Thanks. -Doug
You probably showed him/her the Mitchell Bros. murder animation by Alec
Jason. But, if not, its on the World Creation toolkit cd rom in the
samples\flics\flis\forensic directory. Really gripping stuff, knowing it
actually happened makes it even more poignant. I wonder what the victim was
saying while his brother was systematically shooting him to death, and how
he could sustain so many shots before finally succumbing.
Actually, it didn't occur to me to look on the CD ROM. Thanks!
All you have to do is type "forensic" from the root directory of the CD-ROM
and it'll appear… like magic. <g>
– G
Yea, I saw it. Thanks. I also had a meeting yesterday and decided that I
probably wouldn't get into that business. There are 73 companies in So Cal
alone doing accident reconstruction. I spoke with the president of the So
Cal Trial Lawyers association and he said most courts now view computer
simulations as gimmicks, rather than fact presenters. Of course, I disagree
and so will many other folks who do alright with reconstruction graphics,
but so goes the war. Mitchell was a win, King was a lose. 50/50 ain't bad!
Actually, the Mitchell case wasn't a win YET, because the case is still up
on appeal. And the King case was definitely not a lose, because the judge
didn't even allow the animation in court.
I wouldn't recommend that anyone get involved with forensic reconstruction
animation without at least one of the following: law degree, history of
work experience doing traditional forensic work, education in forensics,
etc. The animation part is purely secondary. Done correctly, computer
animation for personal injury OR criminal cases, is simply a clear, simple
way of illustrating complex events. It's used for the same reason that
non-entertainment animation is ALWAYS USED… for illustrating events that
are too big, too small, too fast, too slow, or to abstract to be viewed as
either a real-time event OR a series of numerical charts.
Nobody should ever get involved with science without having a solid
grounding in that particular science. Especially not legal science.
I predict that a very large number of legal cases will incorporate
multi-media presentations within 10 years. MANY lawyers are now putting
scanned photographs of all their legal exhibits on laserdiscs and giving
jurors barchart books that reference each exhibit by name. If they want to
see exhibit D4 (the smoking gun, for instance), they just wave a bar-chart
reader next to the label and the laserdisc goes to that frame and shows
them the photo of the gun. This is getting MORE AND MORE common, and is a
great way to present alot of data in a complex case. This will lead to
more and more animation use… NATURALLY. It's an evolutionary process.
– G
Doug:
You can also read about it in the June issue of CADalyst.
David
Doug,
Are you interested in criminal or civil lawsuits? I have several articles
on reconstruction of auto accidents. I think they are SAE papers except for
the last one, it was in the "ABA Journal" Dec 89. All
total there is about 40 pages.
* "Slide and Video Animation in Accident Reconstruction"
* "Vehicle Collision Animation Employing Computer Graphics"
* "How to Be an Effective Accident Reconstruction Witness in a
Trial"
* "Animated Evidence (Delta 191 crash recreated through computer
simulations at trial)"
I also have a demotape that last about 4 minutes of three auto accidents.
If you want a copy of the articles and demotape I could mail
them to you. I'm sorry, but I would need to recieve from you $7 to cover
the costs. I'm only getting started and have to live on ny saving at the
present time. My family has to comes first. If you just need the articles,
the cost would be $5.
Let me know………Rick
Doug,
I have been contracting to a forensic engineering firm here in Denver for
accident reconstruction animations. Most of the animations show structrual
failures in buildings along with the theoretical cause. I have at times
needed to represent things such as air flow patterns, clay soil
saturation/expansion, etc. It has always been a challenge, but achievable
with 3D Studio. I have a couple of animations that I am allowed to freely
show, but most of the animations have restrictions still imposed until
after the litigation is completed. I would be more than happy to provide
you with a copy of the flics that I have free distribution rights to (or
talk with you and your friend directly).
Let me know if you have any interest. Chris Thomas, CAT Designs, Inc.
This sounds like interesting stuff, Chris. If you've got anything that you
could share, please send a copy to me at Autodesk so I can show it around
and maybe get it on our "forensic reconstruction 3DS demo reel".
Thanks!
– G
– G, I would be honored to submit my work in hopes of qualifying for the
demo reel. I won't have distribution rights to some of the animations
until late summer/early fall (unless they settle out of court… which
seems to be the case more often than not; with my experiences anyhow). I
do have rights to a couple of forensic animations that I can send to you
now.
What is the best format? Mega floppies? CMS Jumbo tape? 1/2" VHS (Crude,
but my clients seem to like it)? I would prefer to submit the original
640×480 flics, since they seem to be the highest image quality. Let me
know what works best for you.
– G, If you get a chance take a look at the 3D-TREE flic that I posted
yesterday (or today, what day is it?). This is one of the render ready
trees that Keith Seifert, Schreiber Instruments, is developing for
3DS(IPAS), AutoCAD(ADS), and many other programs I'm sure. This stuff is
too cool!!! I agree with Buck, bring back a photo/.gif of -G petting a
Morey! CT