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Building 3D event logs for video investigation

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Abstract

In scene investigation, creating a video log captured using a handheld camera is more convenient and more complete than taking photos and notes. By introducing video analysis and computer vision techniques, it is possible to build a spatio-temporal representation of the investigation. Such a representation gives a better overview than a set of photos and makes an investigation more accessible. We develop such methods and present an interface for navigating the result. The processing includes (i) segmenting a log into events using novel structure and motion features making the log easier to access in the time dimension, and (ii) mapping video frames to a 3D model of the scene so the log can be navigated in space. Our results show that, using our proposed features, we can recognize more than 70 percent of all frames correctly, and more importantly find all the events. From there we provide a method to semi-interactively map those events to a 3D model of the scene. With this we can map more than 80 percent of the events. The result is a 3D event log that captures the investigation and supports applications such as revisiting the scene, examining the investigation itself, or hypothesis testing.

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Notes

  1. 1 http://opencv.willowgarage.com

  2. 2 http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/ml/weka

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jurrien Bijhold and the Netherlands Forensic Institute for providing the data and bringing in domain knowledge, and the police investigators for participating in the experiment. This work is supported by the Research Grant from Vietnam’s National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), No. 102.02-2011.13.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Trung Kien Dang & Marcel Worring

  2. University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Trung Kien Dang & The Duy Bui

Authors
  1. Trung Kien Dang
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  2. Marcel Worring
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  3. The Duy Bui
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Correspondence to Trung Kien Dang.

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Dang, T.K., Worring, M. & Bui, T.D. Building 3D event logs for video investigation. Multimed Tools Appl 74, 4617–4639 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-013-1826-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-013-1826-9

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