ITR: Virtual Environment Technology and Eyewitness Identification

本项目研究了沉浸式虚拟环境技术在犯罪嫌疑人目击鉴定中的应用。这项技术允许个人实时进入和移动三维数字“世界”，观察环境和其中的虚拟他人并与之互动。沉浸式虚拟环境技术的快速发展和人的三维数字成像技术的日益成熟，预示着目击者识别犯罪嫌疑人的准确性将进入一个新的时代。这一点具有重要的社会意义，因为研究文献和司法系统都对使用旧技术(例如警察阵容、面部照片)辨认犯罪嫌疑人的目击证人识别的总体准确性提出了质疑。该项目的科学目标有三个。首先，研究人员将确定在身临其境的虚拟环境中使用人类的数字表示进行人物识别的有效性。其次，他们将确定传统虚拟警察阵容和身临其境的虚拟警察阵容在目击者识别准确性方面的差异，重点放在上述增强的情景真实感上。最后，调查人员将使用沉浸式虚拟环境技术，根据嫌疑人与目标的相似性，制定此类阵容的公平性量化指标。沉浸式虚拟环境技术可以更容易地再现目击者观看嫌疑人犯罪活动的相同环境条件。使用较老的技术不容易复制这样的条件。因此，使用身临其境的虚拟环境技术，证人可以被要求在与他们观察犯罪活动时相同的距离、视角、照明、天气(例如雨、雾)来识别嫌疑人和箔片。此外，这项技术使根据组织变量(例如，身高、体重、发型、颜色)、服装和运动将箔与嫌疑人匹配变得更容易，从而消除了潜在的偏见来源。这项技术还允许对嫌疑人和箔匹配的程度进行定量评估，而不是使用较旧的技术进行纯粹的主观评估。

This project examines the use of immersive virtual environment technology for eyewitness identification of criminal suspects. This technology allows individuals to enter and move about three-dimensional digital "worlds" in real-time, observing and interacting with the environment and virtual others within it. The rapid development of immersive virtual environment technology and increased sophistication in three-dimensional digital imaging of people promises a new age for determining accuracy of eyewitness identification of criminal suspects. This is important societally as the general accuracy of eyewitness identification of criminal suspects using older technologies (e.g., police lineups, mug shots) has been questioned in the research literature as well as in the judicial system. The scientific goals of the project are threefold. First, the investigators will determine the validity of using digital representations of humans within immersive virtual environments for person recognition. Second, they will determine differences between traditional and immersive virtual police lineups in terms of eyewitness identification accuracy focusing on the increased contextual realism described above. Finally, the investigators will use immersive virtual environment technology to develop quantitative indexes of fairness of such lineups based on the similarity of suspects to foils.Immersive virtual environment technology allows easier recreation of the same environmental conditions under which an eyewitness viewed criminal activity involving suspects. Replicating such conditions is not easily accomplished using older technologies. Hence, using immersive virtual environment technology, witnesses can be asked to identify suspects and foils at the same distance, viewing angle, lighting, weather (e.g., rain, fog) as was the case during their observation of the criminal activity. Furthermore, this technology makes it easier to match foils to suspects in terms of organismic variables (e.g., height, weight, hair style, coloring), clothing, and movements thereby eliminating potential sources of bias. This technology also allows the quantitative assessment of how well suspects and foils are matched as opposed to pure subjective assessment using older technologies.