REC Engineering, Inc.,
F.E.Grim, P.E., Mechanical Engineer
FredGrimPE@mechanical-engineer.com
(615) 890-7426
3D Video Animation
In this page I provide examples of the power of 3D Video Animation to present the reconstruction of an accident to the jury. I have created a hypothetical accident which includes issues of vehicle speed, sight distance and reaction time. These can all be very complex issues not easily explained to a jury. With 3D video animation the reconstructed accident can be shown to the jury to gain control of the debate.
A red pickup truck is eastbound on a rural two lane highway with a speed limit of 55 mph. Turning left from a private drive on the southside of the highway is a blue automobile intending to go west. Because of a small hill on the highway to the west of the blue automobile, the sight distance between the vehicle operators is limited to approximately 450 feet. As the blue automobile begins its left turn from the driveway it is struck in the left rear by the pickup truck. The left and right front tires on the pickup truck left 34 and 78 feet of skid mark respectively prior to impact. The automobile is spun 180 degrees counterclockwise and came to rest on the north edge of the roadway. The pickup truck continues in an easterly direction and comes to rest off the northside of the roadway, approximately 400 feet from the point of impact. From the reconstruction of the accident it is determined that the speed of the pickup truck in its approach to the scene was approximately 75 mph. A normal rate of acceleration was assumed for the automobile making its left turn onto the highway.
In the animation program the accident scene and the vehicle are accurately modeled to scale. The vehicles are precisely placed in the scene and in time as calculated by the reconstruction program. The accident sequence can then be viewed from cameras placed anywhere in the scene or on the vehicles. I have chosen to view the accident first from an overhead camera to provide prospective and then from the point of view of the vehicle operators. To further illustrate the power of animation I have also shown the same accident at night and in a fog with visibility limited to 350 feet.
Below you will find available for download six second long movie clips of various views of the accident. Since these are very large files you have two ways to handle them depending on your internet connection. If you have a high speed internet connection, e.g.cable modem, you should be able to play the AVI movie clips with your browser. Otherwise download the zip file and unzip the AVI file for play. If all of this is too much for you to handle please contact me and I will be happy to provide you with a demo tape in VHS format. The quality of the images in these video clips, suitable for the purpose of this internet presentation, is considerable less than an animation as presented at trial.
Day Accident
 |
View of the daylight accident sequence from an overhead fixed camera. |
 |
The pickup truck operators' view in daylight. |
| TrkCamD.avi 798KB TrkCamD.zip 321KB |
|
 |
The automobile operators' view in daylight. |
| CarCamD.avi 809KB CarCamD.zip 241KB |
|
Night Accident
 |
The pickup truck operators' view at night. |
 |
The automobile operators' view at night. |
Fog Accident(Visibility 350 Feet)
 |
The pickup operators' view in a fog. |
| TrkCamF.avi 746KB TrkCamF.zip 254KB |
|
 |
The automobile operators' view in a fog. |
| CarCamF.avi 871KB CarCamF.zip 263KB |
|
F.E.Grim, P.E. (615) 890-7426