Instead of crime: scientists in the Russian Federation have created a VR-polygon for criminalists

Scientists from the Russian Technological University MIREA have developed a virtual training ground for teaching students in the discipline of "forensics". The authors of the VR-space have recreated a crime scene that can be studied with the help of a helmet and special sensors that broadcast tactile sensations to the hands. The acquired skills can then be practiced on a standard analog polygon, which completely repeats the situation. Experts believe that the technology will eliminate the human factor and reduce the risk of errors during the educational process.

How Russia's first VR-polygon works

Specialists of the Institute of Cybersecurity and Digital Technologies of RTU MIREA have developed an innovative project - a virtual polygon for training future criminalists. Any computer, virtual reality helmet and special sensors, which are attached to the hands and allow interacting with objects in the virtual world, are enough to immerse in it. "Izvestia" was the first to test the current version of the technology, which the university prepared especially for our editorial office.

- Standard training grounds for criminalists have their disadvantages, the main among which is the influence of the human factor. Checkers can miss mistakes of students, which can lead to serious consequences in real practice. Eliminating the influence of the human factor during testing will reduce the risk of such errors. Modern VR-technologies are suitable for creating such solutions. The existing analogs on the market often have shortcomings in graphics and control, which makes our project unique and in demand. The use of the simulator will simplify forensic training, including the curricula of specialized educational institutions, and improve its quality. The simulator will meet all standards and requirements, being an improved version of the training ground for criminalists," said Renata Hasanova, a student of the Institute of Cyber Security and Digital Technologies of RTU MIREA.

VR-polygon teaches the correct work with evidence and collection of physical evidence on the example of real cases, which in the university are called fabula. During virtual training, attention is paid to every detail - and how in real life, one awkward move can destroy fingerprints or other evidence, she said.

Photo: Vadim Pavlov

The polygon is called "Virtual Incident Scene" and allows for the recreation of different scene environments depending on the given fabulae, which is difficult to simulate in an educational setting. The choice of built-in tools in the virtual environment that students can use when working with forensic objects is more diverse than in physical settings. Scenarios are developed taking into account the advice of current law enforcement officers and researchers of the university who train students in the field of law, said Ksenia Sheveleva, candidate of law and senior lecturer of the KB-12 department "Legal Support of National Security" of the Institute of Cyber Security and Digital Technologies of RTU MIREA.

- At the moment, students are trained through practical training at the forensic physical polygon. This allows practicing various investigative actions, such as inspection of the scene, investigative examination, search, seizure. Students are trained in the rules of detection, fixation, seizure and investigation of traces of crime. The introduction of VR, which recreates the environment of the physical polygon to the fullest extent, will allow to analyze the actions of a particular student on the physical polygon, repeat the scenario in a virtual environment, to work on mistakes and consolidate the passed material, - she said.

Thus, the student gets the opportunity to study the crime scene and work with physical evidence in virtual reality, and then visit the physical testing ground, which in a limited amount allows to recreate situations from the VR-project in the presence of the necessary props, said the specialist. At the moment in the prototype VR-polygon is presented exactly one scene with the body of the victim, as well as two tools for studying the scene of the crime: fingerprint brush and lifter (tape-scotch).

Virtual crime scene

Upon completion of the work, forensic students will receive the most accurate simulator possible, which will improve the quality of their training, and society will have more trained and qualified specialists, Renata Khasanova believes.

- VR-polygon will help to show the importance of cooperation between specialists of different fields and will allow to objectively assess the student's work in practical classes, to work out mistakes made and recommend them for employment in certain divisions of law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, - said Igor Kotilevets, the official Yandex ambassador and one of the creators of VR-polygon.

Simulators using virtual or augmented reality technologies are becoming a popular and effective tool for training in various fields, accelerating both the process of creating educational content and the process of its assimilation. A project can be successful if it pays increased attention not only to the technological component, but also to the essence of the educational module, says Sergei Sinegubkin, Deputy Director of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "NTI Platform". Sergey Sinegubkin.

- "The virtual scene demonstrates how digitalization can become a powerful tool for implementing interdisciplinary research and training in-demand specialists. Its development contributes to the strengthening of scientific potential and the introduction of innovative approaches in the educational process. The department is confident that the implementation of the project sets new standards for personnel training in the context of modern challenges," said Irina Ivanova, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of KB-14 "Digital Data Processing Technologies" at the Institute of Cyber Security and Digital Technologies of RTU MIREA.

Photo: RSU MIREA/Sheveleva Ksenia Vladimirovna

The human factor remains an inviolable principle of forensics. No neural network or virtual reality can qualitatively help a specialist until he himself conducts a comparative study and gives a conclusion on industry expertise - for example, on who the fingerprints or trace belong to, whether the DNA of the criminal matches the DNA of the suspect, says criminalist and former operative of the RUBOP of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow Mikhail Ignatov.

According to him, such technologies can be useful for humans, but they can never replace either them or the human factor. Therefore, the investigator should always have the last word, and any AI-assistants can only be of an advisory or auxiliary nature, the specialist summarized.