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PFTrack for Forensic Science

Accurate 3D Scene Reconstruction for Forensic Investigation

Reconstruct crime scenes, traffic accidents, and incidents in 3D from multi-camera video evidence. PFTrack delivers court-admissible spatial analysis with auditable precision, the same technology trusted by Oscar-winning VFX studios, applied to forensic investigation.

Key Capabilities for Forensic Analysts

A LiDAR scan of a church being used inside of PFTrack's Survey Solver to solve a camera.
Multi-camera solving

Take CCTV, bodycam, dashcam, and witness phone footage from multiple angles and solve all camera positions in a unified 3D space.

3D scene reconstruction

From video evidence alone, without requiring on-site scanning, produce accurate, measurable 3D models of incident scenes.

Photogrammetry from evidence photography

Reconstruct objects, vehicles, and environments from still photographs captured at the scene.

Precise spatial measurement

Extract distances, sightlines, trajectories, and relative positions from reconstructed 3D scenes with sub-pixel accuracy.

LiDAR-aided camera solving

Forensics teams working with LiDAR scans of a scene can use the Survey Solver to align tracked camera footage against the scan as ground-truth reference.

Auditable, repeatable workflows

PFTrack’s node-based pipeline records every processing step, making results fully auditable and reproducible, essential for evidentiary standards.

Forensic Use Cases

Crime scene reconstruction

Reconstruct the 3D geometry of a crime scene from available video footage and photographs. Determine positions of individuals, objects, and sightlines. Present results as interactive 3D models or rendered visualisations for court proceedings.

Traffic accident analysis

Solve vehicle positions and trajectories from multiple camera sources. Measure speeds, distances, and collision angles. Produce 3D reconstructions that support or challenge witness testimony.

Evidence visualisation

Generate 3D presentations of reconstructed scenes for judges, juries, and legal teams. PFTrack’s exports to standard 3D formats enable integration with presentation tools and VR walkthrough systems.

Surveillance analysis

Track individuals and objects across multiple CCTV cameras covering the same area. Solve camera positions and reconstruct movement paths through 3D space.

Hero Cloud

Scene reconstruction from the footage you already have.

Crime scenes are cleared. Suspects move on. The footage — CCTV, body-cam, dash-cam, witness video — is often all that survives. Hero Cloud reconstructs a measured 3D point cloud from a single tracked shot, providing court-admissible spatial measurement generated from existing evidence rather than a return visit.

Why PFTrack for Forensics

Precision developed in VFX

algorithms built to satisfy the exacting standards of feature film compositing the same sub-pixel precision applies to forensic measurement.

Multi-camera expertise

PFTrack handles the complex geometry of solving multiple cameras viewing the same scene from different positions.

Enterprise deployment

PFTrack Enterprise supports fully air-gapped operation via PFBucket licence server, meeting the security requirements of sensitive forensic casework.

Node-based audit trail

every parameter, every processing step, and every solve is recorded in the node graph. Results can be reviewed, reproduced, and defended in court.

Metadata handling

extensive metadata support preserves chain-of-evidence integrity throughout the processing pipeline.

FAQ

  • Forensic analysts use PFTrack to convert 2D video evidence, uch as CCTV, bodycam, dashcam, and witness mobile footage, into measurable, sub-pixel accurate 3D scene models. By analyzing pixel data using advanced photogrammetry algorithms, the software calculates precise spatial dimensions without requiring physical, on-site scanning equipment.

    This image-based reconstruction workflow enables legal teams to extract highly precise, objective metrics:

    • Precise Spatial Measurements: Determines exact distances, object scaling, and position coordinates directly from individual video frames.

    • Sightline & Visibility Verification: Establishes line-of-sight perspectives to confirm or challenge witness and suspect testimonies.

    • Trajectory Mapping: Reconstructs bullet vectors, falling objects, or pedestrian paths through physical 3D space.

  • The Hero Cloud node is a specialized spatial tracking tool within PFTrack that retrospectively generates a measured 3D point cloud from a single tracked video clip. This tool is designed for situations where a crime scene or traffic accident has been cleared, altered, or is no longer accessible to investigation teams.

    [Available Evidence (CCTV/Bodycam)] ──► [Hero Cloud Node Processing] ──► [Measured 3D Point Cloud] ──► [Courtroom Presentation/VR]

    By extracting geometric structural depth from existing evidence plates, Hero Cloud eliminates the need for a physical return visit to the scene. The resulting 3D point cloud functions as a court-admissible spatial asset, which can be easily integrated into presentation software, accident analysis modules, or virtual reality (VR) walkthroughs.

  • PFTrack solves multi-camera alignment challenges by processing video feeds from differing angles, frame rates, and lens distortions into a single, cohesive 3D spatial ecosystem.

    When a single incident is captured across disparate sources (e.g., a combination of high-angle security cameras, moving vehicle dashcams, and mobile devices), PFTrack tracks common spatial features across all plates simultaneously. The software's unified camera solver calculates the relative position and lens characteristics of every sensor. This enables investigators to trace the exact 3D movement paths of individuals or vehicles seamlessly across multiple surveillance boundaries.

  • A node-based pipeline architecture is mandatory for forensic validation because it creates a permanent, unalterable digital audit trail of the entire evidence processing history. Every adjustment, filtering step, camera tracking parameter, and mathematical solve is recorded as a discrete node within PFTrack's Tracking Tree.

    This structural design ensures that data handling adheres strictly to legal standards:

    • Repeatable Workflows: Allows independent analysts, opposing legal counsel, or peer reviewers to execute the exact same sequence to reproduce identical, verifiable results.

    • Chain-of-Evidence Integrity: Preserves original file metadata throughout the computational pipeline, preventing any covert modifications or data corruption.

    • Defensible Court Testimony: Provides an explicit, transparent visual blueprint of the technical process, allowing expert witnesses to confidently explain the underlying data processing logic to judges and juries.

  • Forensic teams utilize the Survey Solver node inside PFTrack to fuse physical, millimeter-accurate LiDAR laser scans with moving video evidence.

    In high-stakes casework where a physical scan of an environment exists, the LiDAR dataset serves as the absolute "ground-truth" geometric reference.

     

    The Survey Solver aligns the tracked camera positions from footage, such as a dynamic witness video or moving vehicle camera, directly to the stationary LiDAR point cloud. This hybrid process guarantees that the video-tracked camera path matches the exact dimensions of the real-world environment, removing any margin of error regarding lens distortions or tracking drift during critical accident and collision analysis.

  • For highly confidential casework and sensitive criminal investigations, PFTrack Enterprise supports completely air-gapped operation. Local workstations communicate locally via the proprietary PFBucket license server, removing the need for an active external internet connection. This architecture ensures that sensitive source footage, proprietary tracking assets, and critical case metadata remain completely enclosed within secure, localized agency networks, preventing external data breaches and strictly preserving chain-of-custody compliance.

Transform multi-camera evidence into precision spatial data with PFTrack Studio. For high-stakes forensic analysis requiring air-gapped security and auditable node-based workflows, our Enterprise solutions are the global standard.

Need Enterprise? Contact us

Explore the differences between Solo, Studio, Enterprise.
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