Customer Project Profile – Lightpoint Scientific
In this post we feature a customer's workflow using PhotoModeler in vehicle crush analysis and accident reconstruction.
Lou Peck, of Lightpoint Scientific and Axiom Forensic, is a long time customer doing Accident Reconstruction and Crush analysis. His team has developed a workflow that uses laser scan data in PhotoModeler to build up crush and accident scene models for measurement and presentations. Lightpoint Scientific provides datasets of vehicles that can be used in reconstruction work. Axiom Forensic is their forensic consultancy firm.
Two recently published and very interesting videos are outlined in this post, showing how laser scan data can be integrated into PhotoModeler forensics projects!
Using a Laser Scanned Exemplar to Model Crush from Photos
In this video Lou uses a laser scan of an exemplar vehicle to establish a set of control points for orientation of a two photo 'unknown camera' project in PhotoModeler, and to calibrate the camera.
An 'unknown camera' project involves working with photos from a camera that you don't have access to and know nothing or little about its characteristics (focal length, lens distortion, etc.). With a laser scan model of an exemplar vehicle imported as a point cloud into PhotoModeler, he shows how to measure between the important crush points that were modeled in PhotoModeler from the two photos, and corresponding points in the exemplar. Crush data like this can be used to calculate the speed (delta-v) of the vehicle at impact.
Establishing Vehicle Speed from Surveillance Video – Introduction
In this video, Lou exports frames from a surveillance camera's video and calculates a vehicle's speed based on time elapsed and distance travelled.
The scene was laser scanned and the data was used to establish a set of control points, which were used in PhotoModeler to orient the photo and to calibrate the surveillance video camera characteristics. A laser scan of the vehicle was also imported into the PhotoModeler project for visualization.
An image sequence was set up in PhotoModeler so that the movement of the vehicle could be projected onto and visualized on the photo over time.
These videos showed how PhotoModeler (and other complimentary software such as CloudCompare and Rhino) can be used to integrate laser scan data and photogrammetry for accurate measurement and captivating presentations.