A semantic-enhanced trajectory visual analytics for digital forensic

With the increasing application of GPS devices, trajectory data have been frequently adopted in digital forensics because it can encompass spatial and temporal aspects of suspects’ movements. However, a lack of semantic information causes difficulty of linking the trajectories with the activities of suspects. Using the situation of a kidnapping, this paper proposes a semantic-enhanced method in trajectory analysis, which categorizes the daily activities of suspects into different semantic types by connecting trajectory data with transaction data. In the meantime, we present an interactive visualization system with four inner-linked views to provide a collaborative visual analytics of trajectory and transaction data in multiple perspectives. In the case study, the kidnapping investigation is used to demonstrate how the system works on the routine pattern analysis of suspects, the detection of abnormal behaviors, and the association exploration among suspects and their abnormal behaviors. Graphical abstract