Stanford's virtual police lineup makes gangbangers cringe
Although the mere mention of "virtual reality" typically conjures thoughts of gaudy headwear and a fairly good time, Stanford researchers are taking the technology to a much more serious front. A newfangled $25,000 helmet can be used to take victims back to the crime scene, and moreover, can adjust 3D digital busts to give individuals a more accurate look at what the attacker may have looked like at the time of the incident. The virtual police lineup, as it's so aptly titled, enables a virtual world to be opened up in hopes of giving traumatized victims a chance at truly remembering what someone looked like. The weight, height, and basically any other physical attribute of the digital criminal can be altered to give folks a better view, and the wearer can actually approach the busts, inspect their figures, and check out the scar on John Doe's left arm as if the suspects were actually before them. Looks like ski mask robbery just came back into style.[Via Primidi]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LS @ May 6th 2007 5:12PM
puerile maybe, but you can still count me in on the bust enlarging action
Jypson @ May 6th 2007 5:43PM
Hmmm, it's the one with the choppy body and shiny clothes, oh wait...thats all of them.
PreGHz @ May 6th 2007 5:48PM
Ski masks never went OUT of style. They're classics like the "hand in pocket" guns or the "poorly written on napkin" robbery notes.
David @ May 6th 2007 7:02PM
More than likely this will creat memories instead of jogging them. Great idea to put traumatized victims in a virtual world and then put the faces of potentially innocent people on virtual criminals committing the crime. In theory this sounds like a good idea but in practice it is probably not.
Darwin @ May 6th 2007 7:31PM
I initially thought this title was supposed to be a snide remark on the quality of the graphics.
agoodfella @ May 6th 2007 8:33PM
Didn't Cruise and Spielberg make a movie about this already?
Leopold Porkstacker @ May 7th 2007 12:03PM
Wow, whatever happened to Jaron Lanier anyhow?