Ron Lessard, professor of engineering at Norwich gave a lecture on robotics at the Sullivan Museum during a recent Lunch & Learn Program. Photo by Mary Comiskey, The Northfield News Forensics is not an autopsy or the study of death. It is the use of science and technology to investigate and establish facts or evidence in criminal or civil courts of law. Rather than being deadly, “Forensic Faces”, the Lunch and Learn lecture by Dr. David Orrick explored the many ways the face enters into forensic studies. There is no one type of face that is the face of a criminal. Faces can be classified and placed into a database for reference and identification. We know them as “mug shots.”

Men have tried to make criminology scientific since the 18th century when bumps on the head were thought to indicate criminal tendencies. Phrenology is the science that studies the relationships between a person's character and the morphology of the skull. Cesare Lombroso, known as the father of criminology, developed systems of

documenting the criminal using measurements and statistical methods to collect data to prove that someone “born a criminal” could be identified. Later fingerprints, DNA and photo classifications were developed as tools to implicate a criminal during an investigation.

Dr. Orrick presented two magazine covers of OJ Simpson’s mug shot taken during his trial for murder. One picture had been darkened which altered the emotional reaction to the image. He stressed that the observer must be able to track the validity of the image as presented. In kidnapping cases a missing child’s face can be altered to reflect the passage of time which can prove helpful in locating the child. Faces are

A second Lunch and Learn featured Dr. Ronald Lessard, professor of electrical and computer engineering. His topic was Robot Faces. Dr. Lessard had prepared a poster that showed twelve robots. These robot faces fell into several categories and sub-categories. HMI’s (Human Machine Interface) are machines that are used to do dull, dirty, or dangerous tasks. The HMI’s work in space or in factories. There seems to be no face shown. The robots in the movies are portrayed as fantastic, intelligent, and sometimes dangerous artificial life. There are robots lacking eyes or having eyes with inscrutable eyes. Many in this category are evil, for example Gort who appeared in the 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Helper robots are familiar in movies and in real life. Some of this class of robots shows emotion for example, Walle, while some do not show emotion. Other robots such as C3PO are static. The last group looks human and can express emotion. Many wish to become human. Science fiction fuels the imagination.

In the real world some robots are becoming kinder and gentler. Medicine and industry are finding new uses for robots. The Japanese have developed a robot that is able to conduct an orchestra. They are developing robots to assist in the care of its older citizens. Robo-pets have been used to help people who cannot tolerate a live animal. In the future robots will be used for many new and exciting purposes. Who knows what’s next.