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| Upper part of the panel about photo scanning with free software, awarded first place among all submitted to the Journey . |
Few people have closely followed my
studies in forensic facial reconstruction (FFR). These individuals
not only witnessed the positive occasions of institutional
acceptance, published in this website and social media, but also saw
the criticism and even some attempts at discouraging my quest to
develop a new methodology in this area.
From the beginning I counted on the
support of archaeological research group Arc-Team and
archaeologist specialized in Egyptology, Dr. Moacir Elias Santos.
Although, I lacked a partnership in the field of Forensic Dentistry,
something crucial for this type of research.
 |
| Panels made with Inkscape and exposed at the III Meeting of Forensic Dentistry and Forensic Anthropology at Faculty of Dentistry of University of São Paulo (FO-USP) and the award for 1st place. |
By teaming up with Dr. Paulo Miamoto,
PhD student in Forensic Dentistry at the FO-USP , I found the
strategic and prolific partnership I was seeking.
A few months ago, I received a call
from Dr. Rodolfo Melani, head of the Laboratory of Forensic
Anthropology and Odontology (OFLAB - USP) inviting me to attend the
III Meeting of Forensic Dentistry and Forensic Anthropology at FO-USP.
As I wrote in my weekly newspaper
column, receiving an invitation to lecture at USP had the same
emotional effect as an Oscar nomination for an actor. So I readily
accepted the invitation.
In addition to lecturing at the event,
I also would teach a pre-meeting course in Principles of Forensic
Facial Reconstruction with Free Software, with the aim of presenting
open software to this market niche, consisting of dentists, forensic
experts and other professionals.
The class had professionals from
various Brazilian states: Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de
Janeiro, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. Among these professionals,
there were professors, forensic experts from state police
departments, federal police department, undergraduate and graduate
students.
 |
| Course Principles of Forensic Facial Reconstruction with Free Software - School of Dentistry, USP (FO-USP) |
Dr. Miamoto and me taught a syllabus
featuring open software like Blender, where we approached basic 3D
modeling; InVesalius, in which we explained the basics of
visualization and reconstruction of CT scans. We also presented 3D
file editor MeshLab and 3D model maker from photos, the nice and new
PPT-GUI.
 |
| Lecture on Digital Facial Reconstruction featuring the exposition Faces of Evolution. |
The Meeting begun the next day,
September 26th. The lectures were fantastic, many of them presenting
very nice technologies for investigations. I could watch some and was
happy to see that Gimp and other open software were cited in the
speech Dr . Luiz Eugenio Nigro Mazzilli, a great statistician,
professor FO-USP .
Dr. Miamoto talked about FFR with Dr.
Silvia Virgínia Tedeschi-Oliveira, the developer of a nasal
projection estimation method in Brazil, from data taken solely of the
skull.
In my lecture about Digital Facial
Reconstruction I could tell some of my experiences with this science,
explain about free software and tell some interesting facts that
occurred during these studies.
 |
| Dr. Paulo Miamoto presenting a panel on 3D scanning from photos with free software |
In the event there was also a
presentation of panels, in which I took part by making several of
them using Gimp. However, I was quite pleased to see that there was
another panel describing a technique of Dentistry, with the use of
free software .
 |
| Panel presented by Dr. Thiago Beaini (not Arc-Team), where we see the use of InVesalius and MeshLab . |
The panel in question was presented by
Dr. Thiago Beaini . We can see that he used InVesalius and MeshLab to
accomplish the research .
 |
| Dimensional deviation graphic generated in software CloudCompare |
In addition to the studies presented in
the panels, I noticed in a post on the Facebook webpage of the event,
that Dr. Thiago Beaini was also using CloudCompare, another open
software widely used for the generation of 3D deviation graphics.
Panels composed by me and my research
partners were all made with Inkscape and Gimp .
Above we have a panel on a scanning
photographs, which was awarded first place.
Panel on a blind test of a forensic
facial reconstruction.
Panel on forensic facial reconstruction
of Australopitechus, made in partnership
with archaeologist Dr. Moacir Elias Santos .
Panel on comparison of manual technique
modeled by Dr. Miamoto, versus digital made by me.
Final words
Personally, it was a great honor to
participate in this event, marked by excellent lectures, a powerful
networking and good memories that gathered the best of scientific
knowledge with the finest of interpersonal camaraderie.
I am happy to have contributed with my
knowledge of 3D computer graphics linked to free software. I imagine
the freedom seed was planted in the minds of students and professors
of one of the largest and best universities in Brazil.
I hereby acknowledge Dr. Paulo Miamoto for translating the original post, in Portuguese.
A big hug to everyone!
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