Forensics startup credits Purdue after launch of 2 products
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A Purdue University Northwest startup has launched two new products: one that uses VR to train forensic crime scene students and another to calculate the amount of THC in manufactured CBD and hemp products.
Forensics and education company CBF Forensics was born in the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization and has grown using software and technology to advance the forensics profession.
Charles Steele, lecturer of physical science and forensic science coordinator at Purdue Northwest and CBF founder, said in a news release the resources available to him and other students were valuable to his success.
“The launch of CBF Forensics highlights the impact that Purdue Northwest can have in working with entrepreneurs to advance research that leads toward product commercialization,” said Kenneth Holford, Purdue Northwest’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “I believe that commercialization of research products in partnership with the university through entities like the new PNW Impact Lab will play an increasingly important role in future regional economic development.”
Chemistry and physics students at the university are working in teams to conduct research supporting the startup’s efforts..
“These student teams are a valuable resource,” Steele said. “Startup companies like ours do not have the resources of a fully staffed R&D laboratory.”
The VR training system is called Crime by the F.I.V.E.S., which will use immersive technology to simulate live scenes and seeks to create a national training standard. Steele said he hopes the technology is accessible to be used in both classrooms and law enforcement agencies.
The program has enough and a variety of content to be connected to a full semester course. Steele says the program is similar to other technology on the market but bests them in factuality and features.
“The simulations follow real physics; if a user bumps into an item, it will move and possibly corrupt the crime scene. The visibility of evidence matches real-world optics,” Steele said.
The company also plans to release fingerprinting and blood detection applications later this year.
As for the THC detection appliance, Steele said QuanTHC will help make sure CBD and hemp products are free from THC as they are legally required to be. Many manufacturers don’t have ways to test their products, he said, and his product looks to be an inexpensive solution.
Steele claims 70% of CBD products sold in northwest Indiana contain THC, which could have legal ramifications for its users.
CBF Forensics said in the release it plans to pair QuanTHC with a benchtop neutralizer by next year to dipose of test chemicals used in the process.