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Syed Mohd Daud SM, Heo CC, Mohd Yusof MYP, Khoo LS, Chainchel Singh MK, Mahmood MS, Bin Muhammad Nasir MD, Nawawi H. Use of thermal drone in detection and assessment of larval mass temperature in decomposed rabbit carcasses. J Forensic Sci 2024; 69:542-553. [PMID: 38402526 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Manual ground searches and cadaver dogs are traditional methods for locating remains, but they can be time- and resource-intensive, resulting in the decomposition of bodies and delay in victim identification. Therefore, thermal imaging has been proposed as a potentially useful tool for detecting remains based on their temperature. This study investigated the potential of a novel search technique of thermal drones to detect surface remains through the detection of maggot mass temperatures. Two trials were carried out at Selangor, Malaysia, each utilizing 12 healthy male Oryctolagus cuniculus European white rabbits and DJI Matrice 300 RTK drone China, equipped with a thermal camera; Zenmuse H20T to record the thermal imaging footage of the carcasses at various heights (15, 30, 60-100 m) for 14 days for each trial. Our results demonstrated that the larval masses and corresponding heat emissions were at their largest during the active decay stage; therefore, all the carcasses were observable in thermal images on day 5 and remained until day 7. Statistical analyses showed that (1) no statistically significant differences in thermal images between clothed and unclothed subjects (p > 0.05); (2) 15 m above ground level was proven to be the optimal height, as it showed the greatest contrast between the carcass heat signature and the background (p < 0.005). Our data suggested the potential window of detection of thermal signatures was detectable up to 7 days post-deposition. This could be an important guideline for the search and recovery teams for operational implementation in this tropical region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharifah Mastura Syed Mohd Daud
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Department of Diagnostics and Allied Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Malaysia
| | - Chong Chin Heo
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Shah Alam, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Yusmiaidil Putera Mohd Yusof
- Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Centre for Oral & Maxillofacial Diagnostics and Medicine Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA Selangor, Shah Alam, Malaysia
| | - Lay See Khoo
- National Institute of Forensic Medicine (IPFN), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mansharan Kaur Chainchel Singh
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
- National Institute of Forensic Medicine (IPFN), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Shah Mahmood
- National Institute of Forensic Medicine (IPFN), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | - Hapizah Nawawi
- Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia
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2
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Berezowski V, Moffat I, Seckiner D, Crebert I, Ellis J, Mallett X. The suitability of using domestic pigs (Sus spp.) as human proxies in the geophysical detection of clandestine graves. J Forensic Sci 2024; 69:316-328. [PMID: 37904624 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Research in many forensic science fields commonly uses domestic pigs (Sus spp.) as proxies for human remains, due to their physiological and anatomical similarities, as well as being more readily available. Unfortunately, previous research, especially that which compares the decompositional process, has shown that pigs are not appropriate proxies for humans. To date, there has not been any published research that specifically addresses whether domestic pigs are adequate human proxies for the geophysical detection of clandestine graves. As such, the aim of this paper was to compare the geophysical responses of pig cadavers and human donor graves, in order to determine if pigs can indeed be used as adequate human proxies. To accomplish this, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) responses on single and multiple pig cadaver graves were compared to single and multiple human donor graves, all of which are in known locations within the same geological environment. The results showed that under field conditions, both GPR and ERT were successful at observing human and pig burials, with no obvious differences between the detected geophysical responses. The results also showed that there were no differences in the geophysical responses of those who were clothed and unclothed. The similarity of the responses may reflect that the geophysical techniques can detect graves despite what their contents are. The study implications suggest that experimental studies in other soil and climate conditions can be easily replicated, benefiting law enforcement with missing persons cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Berezowski
- School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian Moffat
- Archaeology, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia
| | - Dilan Seckiner
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Isabella Crebert
- School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Justin Ellis
- School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Xanthé Mallett
- School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
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laghari AA, Jumani AK, Laghari RA, Nawaz H. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Review. COGNITIVE ROBOTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogr.2022.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Doro KO, Kolapkar AM, Bank CG, Wescott DJ, Mickleburgh HL. Geophysical imaging of buried human remains in simulated mass and single graves: Experiment design and results from pre-burial to six months after burial. Forensic Sci Int 2022; 335:111289. [PMID: 35397358 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we present an experiment design and assess the capability of multiple geophysical techniques to image buried human remains in mass and individual graves using human cadavers willingly donated for scientific research. The study is part of a novel, interdisciplinary mass grave experiment established in May 2021 which consists of a mass grave with 6 human remains, 3 individual graves and 2 empty control graves dug to the same size as the mass grave and individual graves. Prior to establishing the graves, we conducted background measurements of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), electromagnetics (EM), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) while soil profiles were analyzed in situ after excavating the graves. All graves were also instrumented with soil sensors for monitoring temporal changes in soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity in situ. Measurements of ERT, EM and GPR were repeated 3, 37, 71 and 185 days after burial with further repeated measurements planned for another twelve months. ERT results show an initial increase in resistivity in all graves including the control graves at 3 days after burial and a continuous decrease thereafter in the mass and individual graves with the strongest decrease in the mass grave. Conductivity distribution from the EM shows a similar trend to the ERT with an initial decrease in the first 3 days after burial. Distortion in linear reflectors, presence of small hyperbolas and isolated strong amplitude reflectors in the GPR profiles across the graves is associated with known locations of the graves. These initial results validate the capability of geoelectrical methods in detecting anomalies associated with disturbed ground and human decay while GPR though show some success is limited by the geology of the site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy O Doro
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, OH, US.
| | - Amar M Kolapkar
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, OH, US
| | | | - Daniel J Wescott
- Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, San Marcos 78666 TX, US
| | - Hayley L Mickleburgh
- Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University, Växjö 35195, Sweden; Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, San Marcos 78666 TX, US
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Storch M, Jarmer T, Adam M, de Lange N. Systematic Approach for Remote Sensing of Historical Conflict Landscapes with UAV-Based Laserscanning. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 22:217. [PMID: 35009762 PMCID: PMC8749749 DOI: 10.3390/s22010217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In order to locate historical traces, drone-based Laserscanning has become increasingly popular in archaeological prospection and historical conflict landscapes research. The low resolution of aircraft-based Laserscanning is not suitable for small-scale detailed analysis so that high-resolution UAV-based LiDAR data are required. However, many of the existing studies lack a systematic approach to UAV-LiDAR data acquisition and point cloud filtering. We use this methodology to detect anthropogenic terrain anomalies. In this study, we systematically investigated different influencing factors on UAV-LiDAR data acquisition. The flight parameters speed and altitude above ground were systematically varied. In addition, different vegetation cover and seasonal acquisition times were compared, and we evaluated three different types of filter algorithms to separate ground from non-ground. It could be seen from our experiments that for the detection of subsurface anomalies in treeless open terrain, higher flight speeds like 6 m/s were feasible. Regarding the flight altitude, we recommend an altitude of 50-75 m above ground. At higher flight altitudes of 100-120 m above ground, there is the risk that terrain characteristics smaller than 50 cm will be missed. Areas covered with deciduous forest should only be surveyed during leaf-off season. In the presence of low-level vegetation (small bushes and shrubs with a height of up to 2 m), it turned out that the morphological filter was the most suitable. In tree-covered areas with total absence of near ground vegetation, however, the choice of filter algorithm plays only a subordinate role, especially during winter where the resulting ground point densities have a percentage deviation of less than 6% from each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Storch
- Research Group Environmental Informatics and Municipal Planning, Institute of Computer Science, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
- Remote Sensing Group, Institute of Computer Science, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
- Interdisciplinary Research Group on Conflict Landscapes, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
| | - Thomas Jarmer
- Remote Sensing Group, Institute of Computer Science, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
- Interdisciplinary Research Group on Conflict Landscapes, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
| | - Mirjam Adam
- Interdisciplinary Research Group on Conflict Landscapes, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
- Modern History and Historical Migration Research, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Norbert de Lange
- Research Group Environmental Informatics and Municipal Planning, Institute of Computer Science, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
- Interdisciplinary Research Group on Conflict Landscapes, Osnabrück University, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany;
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Molina CM, Wisniewski K, Heaton V, Pringle JK, Avila EF, Herrera LA, Guerrero J, Saumett M, Echeverry R, Duarte M, Baena A. Monitoring of simulated clandestine graves of dismembered victims using UAVs, electrical tomography, and GPR over one year to aid investigations of human rights violations in Colombia, South America. J Forensic Sci 2021; 67:1060-1071. [PMID: 34927732 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In most Latin American countries, there are significant numbers of missing people and forced disappearances, over 120,000 in Colombia alone. Successful detection of shallow buried human remains by forensic search teams is difficult in varying terrain and climates. Previous research has created controlled simulated clandestine graves of murder victims to optimize search techniques and methodologies. This paper reports on a study on controlled test site results over four simulated dismembered victims' clandestine graves as this is sadly a common scenario encountered in Latin America. Multispectral images were collected once post-burial, electrical resistivity surveys were collected 4 times, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were collected three times up to the end of the 371 day survey monitoring period. After data processing, results showed that the multispectral data set could detect the simulated clandestine and control graves, with electrical resistivity imaging relative high resistances over some of the simulated graves but not over the empty control graves. GPR results showed good imaging on the Day 8 surveys, medium imaging on the Day 294 surveys, and medium to good imaging on the Day 371 surveys. Study implications suggest that, while clandestine graves of dismembered homicide victims would likely result in smaller-sized graves when compared to graves containing intact bodies, these graves can still potentially be detected using remote sensing and geophysical methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Martín Molina
- Facultad de Ingeniería Ambiental y Civil, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Vivienne Heaton
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, UK
| | - Jamie K Pringle
- School of Geography, Geology and Environment, Keele University, Keele, UK
| | - Edier Fernando Avila
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Fusagasugá, Colombia
| | - Luis Alberto Herrera
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Fusagasugá, Colombia
| | - Jorge Guerrero
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Fusagasugá, Colombia
| | | | - Raúl Echeverry
- Facultad de Ingeniería Ambiental y Civil, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Mario Duarte
- Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica, Electrónica y Biomédica, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Alejandra Baena
- Facultad de Ciencias, Sede Circunvalar, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
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Assessing optical remote sensing for grave detection. Forensic Sci Int 2021; 329:111064. [PMID: 34736050 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The application of an effective and ready-to-use tool for discovering clandestine graves is crucial for solving a number of cases where disappearance of people is involved. This is the case in Mexico, where the government drug war has resulted in a large number of missing people that has been estimated to be over 40,000 since the year 2006. In this article, we report results from an experimental study on simulated animal graves detection using several techniques from optical remote sensing. Results showed that several spectral indices from hyperspectral and/or multispectral sensors may be used to detect N-enriched vegetation. Thermal imagery was also effective to detect underground voids through differential thermography, although this was only effective for detecting large graves with bare terrain. Lastly, while dense pointclouds reconstructed from oblique aerial photography was able to detect vegetation regrowth over the pits, the terrain subsidence was not sufficiently large to be detected with this technique, even in the case of mechanical removal of vegetation.
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Revolution in death sciences: body farms and taphonomics blooming. A review investigating the advantages, ethical and legal aspects in a Swiss context. Int J Legal Med 2020; 134:1875-1895. [DOI: 10.1007/s00414-020-02272-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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A Low Cost Approach to Disturbed Soil Detection Using Low Altitude Digital Imagery from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. DRONES 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/drones3020050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Until recently, clandestine burial investigations relied upon witness statements to determine target search areas of soil and vegetation disturbance. Due to this, remote sensing technologies are increasingly used to detect fresh clandestine graves. However, despite the increased capabilities of remote sensing, clandestine burial searches remain resourcefully intensive as the police have little access to the technology when it is required. In contrast to this, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology is increasingly popular amongst law enforcement worldwide. As such, this paper explores the use of digital imagery collected from a low cost UAV for the aided detection of disturbed soil sites indicative of fresh clandestine graves. This is done by assessing the unaltered UAV video output using image processing tools to detect sites of disturbance, therefore highlighting previously unrecognised capabilities of police UAVs. This preliminary investigation provides a low cost rapid approach to detecting fresh clandestine graves, further supporting the use of UAV technology by UK police.
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