NCJ Number
230716
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 55 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 358-365
Date Published
March 2010
Length
8 pages
Annotation
In the case study, two methods of performing body height measurements in images are compared based on projective geometry and 3D modeling of the crime scene.
Abstract
Accuracy and stability of height estimations are tested using reconstruction images of test persons of known height. Given unchanged camera settings, predictions of both methods are accurate. However, as the camera had been moved in the case, new vanishing points and camera matches had to be created for the reconstruction images. 3D modeling still yielded accurate and stable estimations. Projective geometry produced incorrect predictions for test persons and unstable intervals for questioned persons. The latter is probably caused by the straight lines in the field of view being hard to discern. With the quality of material presented, which is representative for our case practice, using vanishing points may thus yield unstable results. The results underline the importance of performing validation experiments in casework. Figures, table, and references (Published Abstract)