FSM 2007 - Report from the Scene
By Paul Dorman, Senior Computer Aided Modeller, Metropolitan Police Service, & Vice President, IAFSM
The FSM 2007 conference held March 26-27 at Sugar Land (Houston), Texas, focused on the newest 3D laser scanning and related technologies to perform high-precision, more accurate measurements of crime scenes, accident scenes and security plans. The conference was deemed a great success and we were fortunate to have Spar Point Research LLC co-host IAFSM with its own SPAR 2007 conference which attracted in excess of 500 delegates.
The IAFSM simulated two crime scenes at the conference - one indoor and one outdoor. The indoor scene involved a fatal firearms incident and the outdoor scene involved a forced vehicle interception, including ballistic evidence.
The purpose of this demonstration was not a test, nor time trial, nor for the IAFSM Technical Advisors to compete with one another. It was designed for educational purposes to develop technical advisors' knowledge on critical issues to be addressed when deploying specialist survey equipment at a crime scene. It was successful in generating discussion on the various scanning techniques and how different scanners produce a different range of data, making each best suited for specific applications. This typically related to speed, accuracy, resolution, range and reflectivity. There was no product that outperformed another and all the products clearly had a significant role to play in various areas of scene mapping/examination.
All our technical advisors - Leica Geosystems, Riegl, Zoller+Fröhlich, FARO, I-SiTE and InteliSum - attended this event and scanned, processed and visualised each of the mock scenes, presenting their results during the conference. Their support and professionalism provided a unique opportunity for forensic and security experts to view different vendors' hardware and software, particularly in capturing identical scenes and having like-for-like datasets for comparison.
In addition to the mock scenes, the conference also provided a number of tutorials, ranging from data capture techniques right through to legal challenges one can expect in the courtroom. A number of international keynote speakers presented case-study material from agencies including FBI, United States Secret Service, US Army, Alberquerque Police, Metropolitan Police, UK, The North Rhine-Westphalia Police, Germany, and Toronto Police, Canada.
Responses from attendees and IAFSM members have commended the benefits of this first conference and the unique level of international case-study material made available. Feedback has also welcomed the expertise on-hand to offer advice and solutions. These experts included law enforcement/security agencies, hardware/software manufactures and service providers.
Work is already underway preparing for FSM 2008.
We wish to thank the following companies, which are currently technical advisors to the IAFSM:
- FARO Technologies, Inc.
- I-SiTE Pty Ltd
- InteliSum, Inc.
- Leica Geosystems
- Riegl USA, Inc.
- Zoller+Fröhlich GmbH