Phase 1 Development Report for the SESSA Toolkit.

Abstract

Abstract : The Site Exploitation System for Situational Awareness (SESSA) toolkit, developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), is a comprehensive decision support system for crime scene data acquisition and Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE). SESSA is an outgrowth of another SNL developed decision support system, the Building Restoration Operations Optimization Model (BROOM), a hardware/software solution for data acquisition, data management, and data analysis. SESSA was designed to meet forensic crime scene needs as defined by the DoD s Military Criminal Investigation Organizations (MCIO). SESSA is a very comprehensive toolkit with a considerable amount of database information managed through a Microsoft SQL (Structured Query Language) database engine, a Geographical Information System (GIS) engine that provides comprehensive mapping capabilities, as well as a an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI). An electronic sketch pad module is included. The system also has the ability to efficiently generate necessary forms for forensic crime scene investigations (e.g., evidence submittal, laboratory requests, and scene notes). SESSA allows the user to capture photos on site, and can read and generate barcode labels that limit transcription errors. SESSA runs on PC computers running Windows 7, but is optimized for touch-screen tablet computers running Windows for ease of use at crime scenes and on SSE deployments. A prototype system for 3-dimensional (3D) mapping and measurements was also developed to complement the SESSA software. The mapping system employs a visual/depth sensor that captures data to create 3D visualizations of an interior space and to make distance measurements with centimeter-level accuracy. Output of this 3D Model Builder module provides a virtual 3D walk-through of a crime scene.