The ART of CSI: An augmented reality tool (ART) to annotate crime scenes in forensic investigation

Forensic professionals have to collect evidence at crime scenes quickly and without contamination. A handheld Augmented Reality (AR) annotation tool allows these users to virtually tag evidence traces at crime scenes and to review, share and export evidence lists. In an user walkthrough with this tool, eight end-users annotated a virtual crime scene while thinking aloud. Qualitative results show that annotation could improve orientation on the crime scene, speed up the collection process and diminish administrative pressure. While the current prototype suffered from technical limitations due to slow feature tracking, AR annotation was found to be a promising, usable and valuable tool in crime scene investigation.