Kiki Veenhof, Sharvin Sawant, Thorben Westendorf / Trace – A handheld device with hyperspectral imaging and Raman spectroscopy
New investigation tools for environmental crimes
Forensic science applies scientific methods to solve crimes, following strict legal standards for collecting, handling, and analysing evidence. This project focused on environmental crimes, particularly pollution-related cases. Observations and interviews were conducted to understand how crime scene investigators approach on-site work today, as well as the tools and methods used to collect, document, and handle samples. Environmental crime investigations combine traditional forensic techniques with specialized knowledge of chemicals and materials in soil, water, and air. The goal is to gather accurate samples, properly document hazardous materials, and transport them for analysis. This unique field requires both scientific expertise and environmental insight.
Process
The project began with an introduction to the fundamentals of environmental crime investigations, including a lecture and a visit to the local police station. During this visit, students met with crime scene investigators responsible for the on-site documentation, and evidence collection, as well as the police officers specialized in solving environmental crimes and identifying perpetrators for legal prosecution.
At UID, a hands-on workshop was held, allowing students to explore existing sample collection kits designed for soil, water, chemicals, and ash.
Building on these experiences and additional desktop research, students brainstormed new design opportunities and formed smaller project teams to develop objectives aligned with their personal interests. This resulted in seven distinct project directions, which were further refined over the remainder of the project.
Outcome
The project resulted in seven different concepts, each exploring smarter and more time-efficient tools for either scanning, documenting, and sharing preliminary and final conclusions at environmental crime scenes. These solutions aim to empower the investigators and reducing their workload by both speeding up the time for on-site investigations and reducing the number of samples required for remote analysis, thereby optimizing resources and ensuring the best possible evidence collection.
Trace – Contamination scanner
Trace is a handheld scanning device designed to help police efficiently and accurately detect environmental crimes. It enables contamination detection without direct contact with hazardous substances, ensuring officer safety during operations. Equipped with advanced hyperspectral imaging and Raman spectroscopy, Trace quickly and precisely identifies highly contaminated areas, streamlining the sampling process. All scanned data is securely stored with GPS coordinates for later review, ensuring thorough documentation and strengthening the evidence-gathering process.
MPS-360 – Instant soil testing
Environmental investigations often face challenges due to inefficient and imprecise soil sampling methods. Current approaches rely on background information, visual indicators, and manual sampling, which can be time-consuming, physically demanding, and prone to inaccuracies. The MPS-360 addresses these issues with advanced Raman sensor technology. By inserting the device into the soil, investigators can quickly detect toxic substances and receive real-time feedback on contamination levels. In addition to its detection capabilities, the MPS-360 features a marking spray for visual feedback, allowing investigators to clearly highlight non-contaminated areas directly on-site.
L.210 – Ultrasound scanning of barrels
The L.210 Ultrasound Scan Bar is a high-performance professional tool for rapidly investigating the liquid contents of 210-liter steel drum barrels. The device utilizes the speed of sound, which varies depending on the medium. By transmitting ultrasonic waves into the barrel, it detects the reflected waves from the opposite steel wall and determines the contents inside. Since the device can identify different materials within barrels and compare them with previous tests at the scene, the number of physical samples needed is reduced. This not only saves time but also enhances police officers’ safety, as fewer barrels need to be physically opened for investigation.
Prizma – Next-gen gas mask
Prizma is a revolutionizing gas masks for the 21st century. Police officers rely on gas masks to ensure their safety, especially at environmental crime scenes. At the core of Prizma are smart glasses that allow investigators to see virtual objects superimposed on the real world. This enables officers to intuitively document crime scenes in a non-invasive way. The smart goggles are worn inside the mask and are equipped with an array of five cameras that perform 3D scanning of the environment. This allows the police to later access a fully detailed 3D view of the crime scene, with all relevant information - such as sampling locations - spatially documented.
Enviison – Scanning device for public agencies
Enviison uses spectroscopy to determine whether an environmental crime has been committed and needs to be reported to the police, such as in recurring cases of illegal waste dumping. Through multispectral imaging, it reveals what the human eye cannot see. The technology detects low-level fluorescence and absorption across different wavelength ranges, making pollutants and chemicals that are otherwise invisible clearly visible and capturable by the device. Enviison also generates images and data for detailed documentation. When synced to a tablet, users can analyse the captured images, insert them directly into reports, and share them instantly with other agencies.
Forensic Trace Tag – Smart documentation, labelling and filing of evidence
Documenting often takes longer than the actual sample collection at a crime scene. Today, this process is largely done manually by applying labels on-site with handwritten information for each sample. Besides being time-consuming, the procedure becomes even more complicated when working in challenging weather conditions or while wearing protective gear. The Forensic Trace Tag system minimizes manual data entry by streamlining the scanning of pre-printed labels and enabling hands-free, online verbal note-taking via a wearable scanning unit. All information is transferred through an app on the officer’s mobile phone and then directly integrated into the police organization’s cloud system.
SEEK – A family of drones working together
Today, the police already use off-the-shelf high-altitude drones to establish an initial visual overview of a potential crime scene. The Seek system takes this approach further by utilizing advanced drone technology and AI-powered reconnaissance to revolutionize both high- and low-altitude surveillance, empowering investigation officers at larger outdoor crime scenes. While a larger drone automatically provides high-altitude reconnaissance, a series of small, low-altitude drones can be deployed when needed for close-range ground investigations, transmitting visual findings to the investigation officers on-site.
Term Project 1
In collaboration with:

Research video – New investigation tools for environmental crimes


Selin Bakis, Jakob Höxtermann / MPS-360 – Enhancing soil testing efficiency

Nils Heider, Cheolhun Cheon / L.210 – Ultrasound scan bar for barrels

Artyom Spagin, Elias Grieninger / Prizma – Gas mask with 3D scanning and enhanced visibility capabilities

Eskil Sverreson, Leonie Schüttler / Enviison – Scanning of dumped garbage

Chenyu Dong / The Forensic Trace Tag system

Yixin Zhu / SEEK – Drone system for outdoor crime scene investigations