What is it?
Virtual Reality (VR) is currently used as a tool to train upcoming crime scene specialists in both the professional working world and even in forensic science modules that are taught in NUS. I like this application of VR as I have an interest in True Crime/CSI and I believe the application of crime scene reconstruction in a VR World has a huge capability in aiding investigators in solving criminal cases. Reconstructing and saving a crime scene in a 3D virtual space may also help investigators re-visit a scene and potentially solving cold cases.
Having an advanced crime scene construction saved in a virtual space would provide more intuition for investigators or students to solve crimes rather than the traditional photographs of textual evidence of a crime scene.
Why they are engaging
VR has made learning more hands-on and intuitive. Rather than relying past case studies of photographs and textual evidence of the crime scene, students are fully immersed in a virtual environment where they get a fuller picture of a crime scene. There, they are better able to spot subtle clues more clearly, such as handprints or gunpowder soot for example.
Before VR entered the picture, setting up a mock crime scene was a very laborious process and a physical set had to be packed with clues and then later unpacked once students finished with their investigations. With VR, a click of a mouse enables students to start their training with different configurations and different crime scenes without much overhead.
Features that are done well
During training, HUD’s that may block the student’s view are limited are rarely used, allowing them to fully immerse into the setting of a crime scene investigation.
The VR system also allows fellow students to see the headset wearer’s field of vision. Fellow students can direct the headset wearer to pick out details of clues they may have missed. When students interact with each other through the investigation, they can help sharpen one another’s analytical skill and correct each other’s methods on the spot.
The student’s actions that are taken during the virtual investigation are also logged and can later be easily reviewed by themselves or an instructor. They can then reflect on what went wrong or what went right during their mock investigation.
What can be improved
Of course, VR in this application still has its limitations. The controllers used in VR are essentially joysticks and cannot fully simulate the flexibilities of a human hand, which is important when learning proper techniques to handle evidence or risk damaging them. Perhaps when VR applications become more advanced and widely used, sensors in each fingers can be used instead of a controller to mimic the controllers of the human hand.
The graphics in the VR world may also not be entirely convincing enough to set an atmosphere of a heavy crime scene in order to completely immerse a student.
However, VR is ultimately still a beneficial tool in helping students learn better, be better engaged and also have more fun while learning.
References
https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg/story/investigating-crimes-in-virtual-reality