Blimp-based Crime Scene Analysis

Crime is a critical problem -- which often takes place behind closed doors, posing additional difficulties for investigators. To bring hidden truths to light, evidence at indoor crime scenes must be documented before any contamination or degradation occurs. Here, we address this challenge from the perspective of artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, and robotics: Specifically, we explore the use of a blimp as a "floating camera" to drift over and record evidence with minimal disturbance. Adopting a rapid prototyping approach, we develop a proof-of-concept to investigate capabilities required for manual or semi-autonomous operation. Consequently, our results demonstrate the feasibility of equipping indoor blimps with various components (such as RGB and thermal cameras, LiDARs, and WiFi, with 20 minutes of battery life). Moreover, we confirm the core premise: that such blimps can be used to observe crime scene evidence while generating little airflow. We conclude by proposing some ideas related to detection (e.g., of bloodstains), mapping, and path planning, with the aim of stimulating further discussion and exploration.