I\u00a0had a conference call with a property owner while both of us were viewing aerial video of\u00a0the property taken from a low flying drone.\u00a0 It was a cost effective way of resolving some technical issues about\u00a0the property without a\u00a0day long\u00a0trip plus time on site.<\/p>\n
I took the video earlier during my forensic investigation of\u00a0a problem there.\u00a0 While analysing the video\u00a0I concluded I had found\u00a0key evidence relevant to\u00a0the problem.\u00a0 But like all\u00a0air photo interpretation, ground-proofing was in order – get boots on the ground and your hands dirty confirming what you thought you saw.\u00a0\u00a0This is a\u00a0basic technique in civil engineering and terrain analysis.<\/p>\n
I mailed a CD of the\u00a0video to\u00a0the property owner, then called and asked\u00a0the owner\u00a0to load the video on\u00a0a computer, go to a\u00a0certain frame\u00a0on the video – easy to do with a counter at the bottom of the video – and tell me why the site looked\u00a0the way it did at that location.\u00a0\u00a0The owner\u00a0did that and confirmed my interpretation of the surface conditions there\u00a0– plus added to the significance of the evidence with some history of that part of the site.<\/p>\n
It truly was a windfall of data got\u00a0during a conference call\u00a0with my client while each of us viewed the video.\u00a0 Who would have guessed made possible with a drone –\u00a0a device\u00a0that may have\u00a0started life as a simple\u00a0toy flown by kids in backyards? (Ref. 1)<\/p>\n
I’ve since thought about splitting computer screens\u00a0and Skyping on one screen with my client while viewing aerial video on the other.\u00a0 Just now I’m realizing\u00a0I can examine anything on a split screen with a client while Skyping with him\/her on another.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
We then “toured” the rest of\u00a0the property via the aerial video and confirmed the location of other features relevant to\u00a0the problem.\u00a0 I\u00a0had seen\u00a0these features\u00a0on site but wanted to hear\u00a0the client\u00a0talk about them.\u00a0 Surprisingly, another feature of the site was noted that was not so evident on the ground nor in the video.\u00a0 It also was\u00a0evidence relevant to\u00a0my client’s\u00a0problem.<\/p>\n
So, all in all, quite a conference call.\u00a0 There’s no question this method\u00a0has gone\u00a0into my\u00a0arsenal of forensic engineering investigative methods.\u00a0 A method\u00a0that will\u00a0also reduce the cost of\u00a0civil litigation.<\/p>\n
Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u00a0had a conference call with a property owner while both of us were viewing aerial video of\u00a0the property taken from a low flying drone.\u00a0 It was a cost effective way of resolving some technical issues about\u00a0the property without a\u00a0day long\u00a0trip … Continue reading \n