Evaluating Consumer-Grade Technology for Accident Reconstruction: A Study of Recon3D, Luma AI, and Leica RTC360

This research paper investigates the effectiveness of various tools for generating 3D point clouds in accident reconstruction. Specifically, it compares the Recon3D app on the iPhone 14 and 15 Pro Max, Luma AI’s capability of generating 3D point clouds from 360-degree vehicle videos, and the industry-standard Leica RTC360 laser scanner. The study aims to capture detailed spatial data of vehicles involved in accidents, assessing the accuracy, efficiency, and usability of these tools. Controlled experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of each tool, comparing the generated 3D models to those produced by the Leica RTC360 laser scanner. This comparative analysis highlights the potential for consumer-grade and AI-powered technologies to democratize access to advanced accident reconstruction tools, providing significant benefits to law enforcement, insurance investigators, and accident analysts.