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Building panoramas with Photoshop
Each episode of the "Crime 360°" reality program on A&E TV features the very expensive Leica Scan Station.
This 3D laser scanning system captures a point cloud within a spherical domain around the unit that can be turned into a 3D model of an incident scene. The Scan Station can be used indoors or out. Software can take photos from the scene, and texture map them into the 3D scene. As a theory of the incident takes shape, video techs can add humanoid figures and props such as weapons and vehicles that can be used to animate a reconstruction of the incident complete with interactive "movement" and zooming throughout the scene.
Users can click "hot spots" in the scene that link to relevant evidence files (photos, finger prints, measurement data). Other advanced features make these very expensive systems worth their price for high-volume forensics, civil engineering, architecture, and "virtual tour" applications.
But in this economy, many agencies and independent technicians do not have the budget for systems like the Scan Station. However, if you have a video or digital still camera, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, and a modest budget for other software tools, you can create your own panoramas and interactive, hyperlinked experiences without much effort.
THE TIGHT SPACE CHEAT
Many incident scenes that must be visually documented involve close quarters, like rooms in all manner of residences. Ultra-wide angle lenses can give a complete view of the area, but often have unacceptable levels of...