Knott Laboratory has developed accident reconstruction animations in stereoscopic 3-D. Stereoscopic 3-D records three-dimensional visual information or creates the illusion of depth in an image. In a stereoscopic animation, two viewpoints are rendered and both of these viewpoints are projected simultaneously. 3-D technology has not been used previously in forensic engineering. A traditional animation presents a graphical visualization of the accident in 2-D. Stereoscopy is used in movies, such as Avatar. As in movies, 3-D (red/cyan) glasses must be worn.
This new stereoscopic capability supplements Knott Laboratory’s portfolio of tools for accident reconstruction animation for court, arbitration or settlement purposes. It joins Knott Laboratory’s Interactive Animation (IA©), developed in 2009, which revolutionized the field of forensic engineering because the presenter is in full control of the presentation. The presenter can go forward, backwards, change the camera view or zoom by simply using the mouse. Just like in video gaming, the level of detail and the interactivity can be tailored to the user’s needs.
