Case Study #1 - Animation to the Rescue Accidents are, unfortunately, a fact of life. And while we don't often think about it, even emergency responders are involved in vehicular accidents occasionally. Rural/Metro Corporation, one of the nation's leading emergency medical transportation service providers, recently decided to update their in-house driver safety program. Part of the program involved showing video footage of actual accidents. While this was a beneficial approach, these videos were often taken from angles that did not show other involved vehicles until after the impact had already occurred. Thus the viewer had only a partial view of what had happened. Ultimately, Rural/Metro wanted to show a larger picture - the sequence of events leading up to the incident and what could have been done to prevent it. But going out into the field with camera crews, real vehicles, and professional drivers to recreate the accidents was not a viable option. In order to recreate the series of events safely and affordably, they turned to the educational computer animation services of Granite State Graphics. As part of the design process, Rural/Metro asked that the animations be (1) similar in details to the actual accidents and (2) utilize 3D models of their real-life ambulances. As a basis for the animations, Rural/Metro provided accident video footage, PowerPoint diagram sequences, and photographs of actual Rural/Metro exemplar ambulances.
Starting with a generic (unmarked) ambulance, we were able to modify it - adding colors, patterns and text - to recreate the look of the specified vehicles. Seeing the "hometown" ambulance gave a sense of familiarity to the employees, and thus heightened the level of interest. For the accidents, roadway geometry and traffic patterns were created to illustrate specific configurations. These animations gave the viewer the ability to see the accident not just from the original video camera's perspective, but from a 3D bird's eye view. The employee could also now identify not only what was going to happen, but how the collision could be avoided. Additional animations were produced to demonstrate "what-if" scenarios and identify potential roadway hazards. By the time the project was completed, more than a dozen animations had been created and provided to a third-party video production facility where the final product was assembled. Overall, it was an exciting project and we were very proud to work with Rural/Metro Corporation in enhancing their training program. Case Study #2 - Candid Cameras Security cameras are nearly everywhere now. Even homes are equipped with more-than-adequate surveillance systems. So it was no surprise when we were contacted by Accident Reconstructionist Michael Cei to help fill in the gaps of an accident that was, well, partially caught on camera. The case involved two young boys who were struck by a vehicle as they crossed the street. A security camera caught the kids moving east across the screen (from left to right), where they disappeared for a few seconds. They then reappeared on the right side of the screen - on the hood of a vehicle - that was moving west. The video also revealed an eastbound pickup truck enter and leave the frame of view. Mike was able to determine how long had passed from when the children left the camera's field of view, to when they reappeared. Utilizing actual field measurements, a reasonable walking/jogging speed was attained for the children. In evaluating the times and distances of the children, the eastbound pickup, and the westbound (striking) car, Mike determined that there were two important factors that would need to be clearly explained: (1) the fact that the children waited for the pickup to pass and (2) they entered the roadway behind the pickup and were in a blind spot for the oncoming car's driver.
In order to safely and clearly show this interaction, Mike opted to contact Granite State Graphics to assist with the visualization. As the video provided timestamps showing some times and distances, of real importance was showing that the children were hidden from view until it was too late to avoid the accident. From the point of view of the driver of the car, small children would be hidden behind the structure of the truck. As you get closer to the back of the truck, you can see more of what is behind it. This line of sight changes dynamically, or as time passes, as the angle between the two vehicles changes. So essentially, what was is not visible now may be visible two seconds from now. This was the case in point. Our solution was to create an overhead (top) view of the accident scene and objects. We then utilized a translucent pie-shaped graphic which identified where the driver of the car could see, and where he could not. This line-of-sight tool was itself animated as the vehicles approached one another. We did not attempt to identify every single nuance of the driver's sightline (what he could see in his mirrors, what he could see if he looked over his right shoulder, etc.), but instead concentrated on the area near the back portion of the pickup as this was the most critical area in regards to how the accident unfolded. By synchronizing the animation detials with the security video's position and timing of vehicles and pedestrians, we were able to accurately represent the details of the accident. This helped demonstrate that the driver of the car did not have sufficient time to avoid colliding with the boys. This animation was one of the first in which we used the animated sightline - a tool we felt was very valuable in explaining an otherwise complex series of events. Ultimately, Mike Cei was quite pleased with the results - and that made us happy too. |
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