14 DAY TRIAL // I've run across the subject of 3D scanners before, usually in conjunction with the concept of model and toy making, or anything else similarly capitalistic, but the Roswell Police Department has something far more practical in mind.
Long story short, they have decided to use 3D scanning technology to map crime scenes.
Specifically, they have bought a Faro Focus3D Scanner and use it to build 3D maps of scenes, which can later be navigated and studied using a computer, tablet or some other device.
The Focus3D uses a class 1 laser and has a margin of error of 2 mm / 0.08 inches. It takes minutes to produce “dense point clouds” of its surroundings.
It also uses GPS, a compass and height sensor to capture data. All without being any harder to use than a digital photo camera.
"It’s going to give the judge and the jury a very accurate graphical image of what the scene consists of," Detective Scott Stevenson was reported as saying.