ITR: Virtual Environment Technology and Eyewitness Identification

本项目研究了使用沉浸式虚拟环境技术进行犯罪嫌疑人的目击证人身份识别。该技术允许个人实时进入三维数字“世界”并在其中移动，观察并与环境和虚拟他人进行交互。沉浸式虚拟环境技术的快速发展和人的三维数字成像的日益复杂，为确定犯罪嫌疑人目击者身份的准确性提供了新的时代。这在社会上是重要的，因为目击者使用旧技术识别犯罪嫌疑人的一般准确性（例如，警察列队、面部照片）在研究文献和司法系统中受到质疑。该项目的科学目标有三个方面。 首先，研究人员将确定在沉浸式虚拟环境中使用人类数字表示进行人员识别的有效性。其次，他们将确定传统和沉浸式虚拟警察阵容在目击者识别准确性方面的差异，重点是上述增加的上下文现实主义。 最后，调查人员将使用沉浸式虚拟环境技术，根据嫌疑人与陪衬的相似性，开发此类列队公平性的量化指标。沉浸式虚拟环境技术允许更容易地再现目击者观看涉及嫌疑人的犯罪活动的相同环境条件。使用旧技术复制这样的条件并不容易。因此，使用沉浸式虚拟环境技术，可以要求证人在相同的距离、视角、照明、天气（例如，雨，雾），就像他们观察犯罪活动时的情况一样。此外，该技术使得更容易在器官变量方面将箔与嫌疑人匹配（例如，身高、体重、发型、颜色）、服装和动作，从而消除潜在的偏见来源。该技术还允许定量评估嫌疑人和箔的匹配程度，而不是使用旧技术的纯主观评估。

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.