Ashley Collison

Lochie Frawley

Joe Mallick

Mitch Clifford

Introduction / Overview (CRA: criteria #1 - 10%)

Our crime scene investigation application leverages virtual reality (VR) technology to provide immersive training and testing for crime scene investigator recruits. With pre-built crime scenes, realistic gear handling, evidence identification, and interactive tools, it offers a hands-on learning experience that surpasses traditional methods. Our goal is to equip future investigators with the practical skills, attention to detail, and critical thinking abilities needed for successful crime scene analysis, ultimately enhancing their preparedness and effectiveness in the field. This application ensures that trainees can hone their skills in a safe and controlled virtual environment, eliminating risks of contamination or mishandling of real-world crime scenes, or expensive/time consuming mock creations.

Description of application (CRA: criteria #2 - 20%)

The application provides pre-built crime scenes for trainees to practise following procedure, starting with the correct gear and equipment, then moving onto identifying evidence and correctly storing evidence to prevent contamination. The application also provides scenes with randomly generated locations and types of evidence for trainees to search for. This section of the application contains a grading system to determine how well the trainee performed, including correct use of gear and equipment, how much evidence was identified, whether all evidence found was handled correctly and how thoroughly the scene was searched. 

“The teaching of crime scene investigation (CSI) skills is an indispensable component of undergraduate and postgraduate Forensic Science courses.” - Virtual reality for teaching and learning in crime scene investigation, Richard Mayne, Helen Green, Science & Justice, Volume 60, Issue 5, 2020, Pages 466-472. The extract published by ScienceDirect discusses the importance of teaching crime scene investigation and the benefits provided by using virtual reality to simulate the environment rather than creating a physical simulated crime scene. The study selected two groups for testing, a group of first year undergraduate students studying forensic science and a group of staff and postgraduate researchers. The VR testing was conducted on the Oculus Quest. Three categories of measurement were collected: attainment of learning outcomes (LOs), questionnaire scores and user feedback. The learning outcomes consisted of: What they did to process the crime scene, What evidence they found, What they hypothesised had occurred and What the logical next step for analysis would be. After conducting the test, the users were asked to complete a questionnaire which inquired as to how prepared they felt by the briefing they were given, how well they felt they could move around the crime scene, how they felt after (sickness or vertigo), whether the world was intuitive and the scene immersive and more. The answers are provided in the article, but answers were mostly ranged between neutral and positive. The researchers concluded “VR technologies are an engaging and effective method for imparting practical crime scene skills. Furthermore they are more accessible and may potentially offer a wider range of more cost-effective solutions than conventional methods.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030620300927

Description of the interface solution (CRA: criteria #3 – 20%)

The interface solution proposed for the crime scene investigation application leverages virtual reality (VR) technology to create a highly immersive and realistic training experience. In the area of crime scene investigation, the significance of VR integration into the application cannot be overstated. Virtual Reality aims “To build a visual interface that takes advantage of the architecture of the human visual system” (Furness). In using this technology, the application goes beyond the limitations of traditional training methods, offering a hands-on, and dynamic learning experience. This approach aligns with the specific needs of crime scene investigation training, where practical skills, attention to detail, and critical thinking are hugely important.

 

Traditional point and click adventures may also be a viable option in crime scene investigation training, but the ability of virtual reality to immerse the user is unparalleled, “In VR one is able to actively explore and interact with the environment, just as one would do in real life.” (Scarfe & Glennerster, 2019). This interactivity is the crux of a virtual reality application and the main reason for leveraging virtual reality in the crime scene investigation space.

 

 A similar approach was tested on a group of police officers to train first response, this approach to training aims to create a Virtual Reality Scenario Based Training method (VR SBT). “VR SBT provides the advantage that it can be performed largely independent of a training location as it relies only on sufficient space to set up a VR system.” Lisanne Kleygrewe, R. I. Vana Hutter, Matthijs Koedijk & Raôul R. D. Oudejans (2023) This illustrates the advantages of not requiring a complete scenario to be created in real space, but rather only the space required for a virtual reality environment. The results of this study found that “the maximum HR and average level of physical activity were significantly higher in RL SBT, whereas invested mental effort was significantly higher in VR SBT.” Lisanne Kleygrewe, R. I. Vana Hutter, Matthijs Koedijk & Raôul R. D. Oudejans (2023).

These results show that virtual reality is effective in training mental effort, which makes VR perfect for a crime scene investigation training scenario.

 

The interface's significance also lies in its ability to create a seamless transition between various aspects of crime scene investigation. An ultraviolet flashlight and task list for training serve as essential tools for organising information, and in VR, they can be seamlessly integrated into the user interface, allowing the user to track their progress in an intuitive manner. Locations of clues are strategically placed, encouraging users to explore the virtual crime scene thoroughly. Moreover, the inclusion of 'good hints' and 'bad hints' (red herrings) challenges users to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information, further improving their analytical abilities.

Interaction Design

The primary interactions and their reasonings are outlined in the table below

Interaction Name	Interaction description	Interaction reason
Movement	Moving (point and click to teleport) and looking around the virtual environment	This simulates a crime scene investigating moving and looking around a crime scene. As the user can physically tilt their head to look around or underneath objects in a VR headset this allows the application to more accurately mirror the real world interaction than a 2D PC screen.
Picking up 3D models	Pick up and manipulate models allowing the users to examine the object up close or move them out of the way	Allows the user to interact with their environment in a more human like manner
Putting on crime scene investigator hazmat suit to avoid contaminating evidence	Users must interact with a hazmat suit to put it on or be penalised for contaminating a crime scene	Reinforces the important practise of needing to put the suit on to avoid contamination of the crime scene
Switching between crime scene investigation tools	Users can cycle between investigation tools by pressing buttons on the oculus controller	Allows users to quickly switch between the tools they need to evaluate the crime scene and collect evidence. Avoids the user accidentally losing the tools and thus not be able to complete the room
Takings photographs of evidence and crime scene with camera	While holding the camera tool, users can point at a piece of evidence to take a picture which is added into evidence	Simulates the task of CSI’s needing to take photographs of the crime scene and evidence that cannot be easily recorded such as footprints
Using a UV flashlight to look for blood samples	While holding the UV flashlight tool, users can point at a piece of evidence to reveal hidden evidence like fingerprints or blood which is added into evidence	Simulates the task of CSI’s using UV light to find clues that are hard to detect with the naked eye.
Interacting with digital devices for digital evidence	Users can interact with pieces of digital evidence such as laptops or phones to search for emails or text messages. They will need to turn them to aeroplane mode in order to preserve the integrity of the data.	Simulates the task of handling digital evidence
Putting evidence into bag for future processing	While holding the bag tool, users can point at a piece of evidence to bag and submit it into evidence	Simulates the task of storing important evidence into bags to that in can be used by further investigation

Storyboard

Initial Technical Development (ILO#3 – 15%)

Software is Unity for the development of the application and github for version control and project collaboration   

Hardware is Oculus Quest 2 headset and controllers.

Planned scope of application:

Users will be able to move around a crime scene and interact with objects. Object interactions include:

• Putting on crime scene investigator hazmat suit to avoid contaminating evidence
• Picking up and moving objects around the scene
• Switching between crime scene investigation tools
• Takings photographs of evidence and crime scene with camera
• Using a UV flashlight to look for blood samples 
• Interacting with digital devices for digital evidence
• Putting evidence into bag for future processing

Users will be able to practise analysis a crime scene in training mode and then test their abilities in the assessment 

Initial 3D models (ILO#3 –15%)

Apartment Kit:

https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/apartment-kit-124055

The apartment kit model is the backbone of the application. The apartment kit is a modular, fully customizable asset, that allows us to create scenarios for the investigation training to take place. The Apartment Kit contains over 200 prefabs, ranging from furniture to props such as paintings and lamps. The Apartment Kit was chosen as the model for the applications main environment because of the breadth of customization available, and the fact that many crimes are committed in peoples homes. 

Flashlight:

https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/props/electronics/flashlight-18972

The flashlight model is used as a Ultraviolet torch that can be used to gather further evidence that is unable to be seen by the naked eye. This flashlight was chosen as it is a universal flashlight model that is suitable for first person virtual reality usage.

Conclusion

In summary, our crime scene investigation application revolutionises the training and testing of crime scene investigator recruits. It offers an immersive and realistic learning experience that surpasses traditional methods, as corroborated by the study conducted by Mayne and Green (2020). Virtual reality proves to be an engaging and cost-effective tool for teaching practical crime scene skills, making our application a valuable resource for police training programs.

Our meticulously designed interface seamlessly integrates essential tools like the ultraviolet torch and task list, enhancing trainees' organisation and analytical skills. This immersive interface allows users to actively explore and interact with the virtual crime scene, replicating real-world interactions more accurately than conventional methods. The incorporation of lifelike interactions, from donning a hazmat suit to switching between investigation tools, prepares trainees for the challenges they will face in the field.

From a technical standpoint, we utilise Unity for software development and GitHub for version control and project collaboration, while the hardware comprises the Oculus Quest 2 headset and controllers. With a comprehensive scope covering evidence collection, tool usage, and digital evidence handling, our application provides a comprehensive training solution for aspiring crime scene investigators. In conclusion, our VR-driven crime scene investigation application sets a new standard for training, offering a safe, immersive, and effective environment to equip future investigators with the practical skills and critical thinking abilities essential for success in their field.

References

Kleygrewe, L., Hutter, R. I. V., Koedijk, M., & Oudejans, R. R. D. (2023). Virtual reality training for police officers: A comparison of training responses in VR and real-life training. Police Practice and Research (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15614263.2023.2176307#)

Toward tightly-coupled human interfaces Dr. Thomas A. Furness III 

Scarfe, P., & Glennerster, A. (2019). The Science Behind Virtual Reality Displays. Annual Review of Vision Science, 5, 529-547. (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-vision-091718-014942)