American researchers have shown that Lidar technology can be effective in detecting the presence of excavated tombs in nature. Lidar technology is expected to come to the fore as a new tool that can help find murder victims.
Discoveries have been made with this new technology
Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology in archeology has made great progress in recent years. Several major discoveries have been made possible by this distance measurement system, which calculates the delay between transmitting a laser light and receiving its echo on obstacles.
Very recently, a giant Mayan city was unearthed in the jungles of Guatemala. Earlier, Angkor temples in Cambodia revealed new secrets, while in Denmark an over 1,000-year-old Viking castle was unearthed by laser beams.
It will shed light on mysterious murders
Based on lidar’s abilities to detect the slightest changes in terrain relief, a team of American researchers (Oak Ridge national laboratory, University of Tennessee, Sandia national laboratories, National geospatial intelligence agency) has shown that this technology can help. This technology will uncover many unsolved murders. How Does? By helping uncover bodies buried in the wild.
Lidar can reveal elevations or depressions in the ground
When a corpse is buried somewhere, the place where it is buried always undergoes some changes. However, these differences are very difficult to detect with the naked eye because these burials are often camouflaged either intentionally or by natural process. Lidar can traverse the surface layer and read the relief of the terrain to reveal elevations or depressions produced by the decay of the body.
To carry out this research, the researchers used scientifically inherited corpses, which they buried in several tombs. Using a three-legged lidar, they scanned the area for several time periods before and after the bodies were buried there, so they could compare differences and observe progress.
Image Credit: Pexel
Will save time for teams in murder investigations
The system does not specifically detect graves or corpses, but detects ground disturbances that may indicate activity. The use of lidar will help police forces better target their searches, thus saving much more time compared to current techniques. This will lead to the conclusion of the cases in a shorter time.
