A Three-Dimensional Crush Measurement Methodology using Two-Dimensional Photographs

Reconstruction of motor vehicle collision crashes typically involves calculation of the change in velocity (Delta-V) of the crash-involved vehicle(s). Many scientific methodologies have been developed for such calculation and many of these require quantification of the damage sustained by the crash-involved vehicle(s) as a first step in that Delta-V calculation. Occasionally, this methodology is complicated when one or more of the crash vehicle(s) has been repaired or destroyed before the crush can be directly measured during a “hands on” physical inspection. In many instances, the only available documentation of the post-crash vehicle damage is a handful of photographs and/or videotape footage. The methodology detailed in this paper evaluates the accuracy and reliability of three-dimensional wireframe modeling techniques based on two-dimensional photographs to quantify the vehicle crush.