Forensic animation is a tool that is used in the investigation of criminal and civil incidents, as well as in court to help one side press a case. Since the 1990s, forensic animation has been used in courtrooms, and it is becoming increasingly popular among investigators and the legal community. Many viewers of procedural shows such as CSI and Bones are familiar with forensic animation and its applications.
A scene or incident is brought to life through computer animation in forensic animation. The animation incorporates known details from the scene and allows investigators to walk through the incident from various perspectives. After a car accident, for example, using a forensic animation to piece together the evidence may reveal that a driver was unable to see an oncoming car due to an obstruction, thereby explaining how the accident occurred.
Investigators can use forensic animation to recreate crime scenes and explore various scenarios that could have occurred, as well as to incorporate all of the evidence to try to explain what happened, how it happened, and when it happened. Criminal investigators can benefit from forensic animations, especially when working on complex cases, because the animation can provide new insight and a fresh perspective, which can highlight details or draw the investigator’s attention to an area of interest.
Forensic animations can be used in court to show a jury how an incident happened. Some jurors may benefit from the visual demonstration, and in some cases, forensic animations have been credited with making or breaking a case, demonstrating the importance of visual information.
Substantive forensic animations concentrate on just the known facts, with reconstructions informed by forensic professionals’ expertise and programs designed specifically for forensic animation. For example, a computer program might be able to calculate friction based on known conditions, the weight of an object, and so on. Demonstrative forensic animation is used to create a visual representation of a scenario in order to show how things might have happened or could have happened. In a product liability case, for example, a forensic animation could be used to demonstrate how a product’s failure could or could not cause injuries, depending on which side of the case the lawyer is arguing.