Documenting war crimes with Artec 3D

"Artec 3D scanners are very popular among forensic experts all over the world for fast and accurate evidence collection. We are glad that Ukrainian experts now will also have access to this technology that will save them a lot of time in acquiring."

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Considering the stringent accuracy requirements expected of the defence and military industries, it is no surprise that metrology solutions like 3D scanners have become an important technology for the sector. Where there is war, there are often crimes being committed as well, and it is of the utmost importance that justice prevails and those who are guilty should be held responsible. To do so, highly accurate and reliable evidence must be collected, which is where 3D scanning comes in.

Companies such as Artec 3D and FARO have already proven that 3D scanners can play a vital role in pursuing criminal justice. An entire crime scene can be copied exactly as a digital version, which helps the investigation and provides context to a jury in court. With war crimes being committed in Ukraine, such as the Bucha massacre of Ukrainian civilians and the ill-treatment of prisoners of war, documentation is a necessary challenge if a resolution is ever to be reached.

But in such an unstable environment, which is so unpredictable even in the short term, what can be done other than basic photography to document these atrocities for when the time comes to judge them fairly? According to the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, portable 3D scanners will assist with this task.

About the Russo/Ukrainian war

The ongoing war in Ukraine first started in February of 2014, after Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia moved to occupy and annexe Crimea from Ukraine, supporting pro-Russian separatists in the area. The conflict only intensified in February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.

Artec 3D steps in to help document war crimes

A full package of Artec 3D solutions was sent to Ukraine to capture forensic evidence in 3D. During the necessary cleaning of liberated areas (e.g., dismantling landmines) evidence of crimes can potentially get contaminated, destroyed, or lost. This makes the prompt and accurate capturing and documenting of war crime evidence in Ukraine critical and time-restricted before it disappears.

Amongst the Artec 3D products delivered to Ukraine, 30 handheld, wireless Artec Leo scanners, extra batteries for extended scanning time in the field, high-precision calibration kits, and five-year Artec Studio software licenses for processing and analysing the 3D data captured were included. Following data collection, any files or documents can be uploaded and stored on a cloud, where they can be safely shared, accessed, and processed by investigators anywhere in the world.

“Luxembourg strongly condemns the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and has made a substantial effort in terms of lethal and non-lethal military equipment supplied to Ukraine, worth currently 74 million euros, representing over 16% of the Luxembourg total defence budget for 2022,” said François Bausch, Minister of Defence in Luxembourg. “However, our support is not limited to military equipment. We also support the investigation of Russian war crimes committed, to bring those that are responsible to justice. Therefore, we provide the Ukraine prosecutor’s office with state-of-the-art Luxembourg technology, 30 Artec Leo 3D scanners, which will greatly help with the collection of evidence of these war crimes committed.”

Key features of the Artec Leo:

  • Stream a video to a second device with wireless capabilities.
  • Base and background removal.
  • Inbuilt touch screen.
  • Long-lasting battery.
  • Mobile scanning experience.
  • 3D resolution of up to 0.2mm, Point accuracy of up to 0.1mm, and data acquisition speeds of up to 35 million points per second.
  • Real-time 3D model projection.
  • Scan-to-cloud capabilities.

Artec Leo helps provide forensic evidence

The Artec Leo is a handheld, totally wireless device with a built-in screen designed to capture data quickly and accurately in any location. Its speed and ease of use, as well as its ability to upload scanned data directly to the cloud, make it a solution particularly suited for forensics, where it is crucial to collect data as fast as possible.

“Artec 3D scanners are very popular among forensic experts all over the world for fast and accurate evidence collection. We are glad that Ukrainian experts now will also have access to this technology that will save them a lot of time in acquiring, documenting, assessing, and bringing to the court evidence of war crimes being committed on a large scale in their country,” said Art Yukhin, President and CEO of Artec 3D. “We admire the heroic people of Ukraine and are honoured to contribute to and support Ukraine in holding war criminals and terrorists accountable for their crimes.”

The 3D scanning specialist's equipment will enable Ukrainian forensic teams to create highly accurate 3D models of objects and scenes. Digital twins of all available evidence can then be shared with other investigative groups and the International Criminal Court. The potential uses of these 3D models include forensic analyses such as precise damage assessments, bloodstain pattern analysis, bullet trajectory reports, autopsy documentation, virtual reality (VR) presentations to juries in court, 3D-printed evidence, and more.

“Our forensics specialists have been working around the clock, documenting the evidence and establishing the facts of Russian aggression,” said Natalia Nestor, Deputy Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. “On behalf of the Ukrainian people, together with our teams of experts, I want to personally thank you for the support and assistance provided to us by the Luxembourg people and their government during this difficult period of our history. This much-needed equipment will accelerate our victory, increase the credibility of our cases, and draw us nearer to a victory for all of humanity.”

Beyond the package for capturing forensic evidence, Artec 3D has been committed to working alongside Ukrainian partners and authorities from the beginning of the war. In partnership with LUkraine, a Luxembourg-based association providing humanitarian crisis relief in Ukraine, Artec 3D donates 1% of every Artec Leo sale to ensure that help in the form of first aid, medicine, shelter, food, and clothing is consistently reaching those who need it most. Additionally, with KODA Ltd, Artec 3D's dedicated Ukrainian partner of 13 years, and Skeiron, a Ukrainian team dedicated to 3D scanning Ukrainian monuments, Artec 3D is currently working to preserve priceless parts of Ukrainian heritage in 3D that are at risk of being lost or damaged.