Development of a Computer-Assisted System for the Reconstruction of Fragmented Plate Glass and Other Surfaces Splintered by Violent Acts, Final Report

• NCJ Number: 208939
• Author(s): Frederick A. Cooper
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 15 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This report presents an overview of the National Institute of Justice pilot project on the development of a computer-assisted system for the reconstruction of a variety of shattered objects.

Abstract

A difficult undertaking in the field of forensics has been the reconstruction of shattered or damaged objects. The U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice sponsored a pilot project in the experimentation for the reassembly of fragmented plate glass and other surfaces shattered by acts of violence. For this project, 627 fragmented pieces of a pane of glass from a crime scene were utilized. An attempt was made to develop a computer-assisted system that would be applicable to a variety of reconstruction tasks. This development component extends the rapid and current computer technologies to new forensic applications. The project developed a matrix of programs offering the ability to graphically manipulate geometrical shapes that are attached to an interactive database. Positive results were achieved in testing by ground-truth joins of pieces discovered in the computer graphics routine. The project developed a protocol for the reconstruction of a wide variety of shattered, demolished, or dismembered objects besides a pane of glass. From this project, it became clear that reconstructions of shattered objects are made possible or can be handled more efficiently by GIS-based computer systems. This report discusses the various protocols which were assessed during the development of a computer-aided system with the potential of a wide variety of reconstruction undertakings in both forensics and archaeology. Figures