AR and Hologram Technologies at Service of Police

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

The Dutch national police might be using augmented reality and hologram technologies in fighting crime, within the framework of an innovative project.

The project is a collaboration between the police force, the Dutch Forensic Institute, the national fire brigade, Delft University of Technology and AR development agency Twnkls, an AR agency that focuses on the development, production and implementation of mobile AR applications.

As chief inspector Rob Kouwenhoven told Dutch newspaper AD, there are multiple scenarios in which augmented reality could come in handy.

According to thenextweb.com, the current set-up consists of a smartphone camera stuck to the officer’s shoulder, and another phone wrapped around their wrist, which can be used to mark evidence or leave notes about a crime scene.

The organization is also trying out Microsoft’s Hololens, hologram technology which could overlay relevant information during forensic investigation, making it easier for investigators to put the puzzle pieces of a crime together.

It could also prove useful for courtroom reconstructions of crimes, which currently involves a lot of paperwork and a physical re-enactment of the event. By looking through an AR device, it’ll be easier for the judge to understand what exactly happened through digital animations and explanatory annotations overlaid on the scene of the crime.

The police is also exploring the options for patrol officers, who could use the technology as an easy way of navigation by overlaying directions on the real world, or indicating the origin of a call to the local emergency phone number.

Hololens – Mixed reality encompasses a wide range of experiences that previously were considered to be only augmented reality or only virtual reality. In mixed reality, people, places, and objects from your physical and virtual worlds merge together in a blended environment that becomes your canvas. Interacting with holograms in mixed reality enables you to visualize and work with your digital content as part of your real world, according to Microsoft website.

If everything works out, the police is looking to implement a version of the technology in the coming four or five years.