Forensic Applications of Commercial Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Technologies

Commercial Remote Sensing and Spatial Information (CRS-SI) technologies, due to their natural geospatial representation and unique data acquisition, offer great potentials in forensic investigation applications. However, limitations in viewpoints and reliance of user experiences may force the court of law to limit the use of CRS data as direct evidences. This paper discussed the forensic applications of satellite/airborne and ground-based remote sensing techniques and their resolution requirements. In particular, close-range, airborne photogrammetry and terrestrial LiDAR scanning are discussed in greater details. Structural damage detection from recent Haiti earthquake is used to demonstrate that extensive experiences and a priori information are necessary when data resolution is not sufficient.