TerraFormatics

One Planet Per Star

2012-01-12T09:45:00.002+01:00

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-010

Six year study shows, planets are a rule rather than an exception.. There are 100 billion planets in our galaxy.

I suppose this raises the possibility of meeting other intelligent species.

Can hardly wait.

Why we haven't met any aliens yet?

2011-12-22T12:26:00.003+01:00

tl;dr:

We already sidetracked according to space research: we are inventing and investing more and more around virtual fields, and space exploration lost its status.

In the long run, maybe fundamentalists and anti-consumerists will rule the galaxy outside the matrix-immersed Earth...

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/why_we_havent_met_any_aliens/

Literally Lightning-Fast Video Capture

2011-12-13T16:34:00.001+01:00

Optical Trick Inspired By Blue Morpho Butterfly

2011-12-13T16:30:00.001+01:00

http://www.fastcompany.com/biomimicry/never-before-seen-optical-trick-creates-ultra-secure-cash

Planet Found in Habitable Zone

2011-12-06T15:41:00.002+01:00

Sadly, it is 600 light years away from us, but still... we could colonize it.. (If it is not yet.)

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html

Euclideon - Unlimited Detail Engine

2011-11-24T13:37:00.001+01:00

An article covering the Unlimited Detail Engine:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/11/22/exploring-unlimited-detail.aspx

Why do we need Data Science?

2011-11-18T18:04:00.001+01:00

https://plus.google.com/114723964985237592593/posts/KAnEjivD88j?imm_mid=0786ea&cmp=em-orm-strata-nov14-newsletter-direct

A little bit of history, tools data scientists use and used to use, opinions, and the future.

ISS Time Lapse Video

2011-11-15T15:24:00.002+01:00

You can even see the Moon's light reflecting on the oceans..

'Smallest fossil' in 3D

2011-11-10T19:30:00.003+01:00

Researchers have documented the "smallest fossil" at the University of Manchester. Computed Tomography (CT) was used during the survey and the 3D image of the fossil was created by the combination of the 2D images. Nice work!

source and link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-15655567

How Dark Sky Works

2011-11-09T16:51:00.003+01:00

What is Dark Sky?

An accurate short-term weather predictor. (By short-term: half or one hour.)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackadam/dark-sky-hyperlocal-weather-prediction-and-visuali?

And now here is a post about how it works:

http://blog.jackadam.net/2011/how-dark-sky-works/

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

2011-10-28T09:06:00.005+02:00

Great research from TU Berlin!

link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th5zlUe6gOE

Japanese engineers develop flying robotic orb

2011-10-26T19:04:00.001+02:00

Tanks turn invisible

2011-10-25T17:54:00.003+02:00

here is an interesting military research...

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDk5cA8JUIQ

Spying for Profits

2011-10-24T12:19:00.001+02:00

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38722872/

10 Years of Fires on Earth Seen From Space

2011-10-22T10:00:00.000+02:00

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/wildfires-space-nasa

HoloDesk

2011-10-21T12:24:00.000+02:00

3D models in archive photos

2011-10-18T13:51:00.001+02:00

http://www.cgchannel.com/2011/10/cool-tech-demo-match-3d-models-into-archive-photos/

Swarmonoids

2011-08-17T14:59:00.002+02:00

However cool this looks, 4 years of research for getting a cartoon book is a little bit pricey.. :)

An idea

2011-08-16T10:39:00.003+02:00

The other day I saw an ad: "this bag fits the hand luggage size.

I had to describe the situation to someone, who has never been to an airport: your hand luggage must fit into a box, if it is only a little bit bigger, you have to remove something from it.

(Mostly getting out a jacket or pullover, and taking it on, or throwing away some big but cheap souvenir.)

The idea: why do we need the box?

Maybe we could check the size of the luggage with a laser scanning device, or with a video recorder.

(As you've seen in a previous post, a 3D model could easily been constructed..

There would be no need to try to push your stuff at all costs into that box.. you just have to smile and show the bag while the device scans you and your belongings.

"Ott is volt egy!"

2011-08-16T10:30:00.002+02:00

http://twitpic.com/662hqp/full

My new desktop picture.. :)

A shooting star photo taken from IIS by an astronaut.

GelSight - Innovative research at MIT

2011-08-13T15:22:00.003+02:00

Woooow! GelSight offers various new research opportunities, for example....

This unique measurement system can help to analyse the surface patterns in the firearms and toolmarks identification. Nowadays, the forensic experts investigate these surface structures in 2D and I think the 3D comparison of these patterns can provide more exact identification process in the law enforcement.

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7gXih4XS7A&feature=player_embedded

source: www.gelsight.com

Kinect Fusion

2011-08-12T14:43:00.002+02:00

This is just awesome...

The next generation of battleship weapons - laser cannons?

2011-07-31T21:09:00.003+02:00

In a new research project the MK-38 25 mm machine gun will be combined with a solid-state laser weapon. This new technology can be useful against the small ships and drone attacks in the future, because the invention of this unique defense system provides a huge improvement in the field of next generation weapons.

The next MK-38 can be used in three different ways. First, the machine gun function (180 rounds per minute) can destroy the enemies within the range of 2000 yards. The second method is the laser function; the canon can fire of “different levels of laser energy???”. I don’t know, what does it means exactly, but I’m sure, I don’t want to stand at the front of the cannon during the test phase of the weapons. J Today, officially we can burn small objects (with 10 kilowatts maximum energy) or mosquitoes with laser…maybe there are some secret developments in the background like the Death Star Superlaser in StarWars. The third function of the new MK-38 means the combination of the first and the second techniques: the laser can identify and lock on a target for the machinegun. I think this third “combination method” of the weapon should be as a basic attribute in the first function. My question is: Why would I use only the machinegun function? I have an integrated laser as well, which could help during the target selection….I don’t understand. To summarize: I think, this “new” invention tries to upgrade the previous machinegun technologies and unfortunately, we should wait again for the real laser cannon news.

source: wired.com

Bird Flight Deciphered

2011-07-26T10:24:00.002+02:00

http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/11369.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnR8fDW3Ilo

It looks wonderful.. however, it reminds me one of Philip K. Dick's novels: Do Androids Dream About Electronic Sheeps?

I bet the main usage fields of this technology will be entertainment and military.

Far Future Mispredictions

2011-05-15T09:36:00.003+02:00

http://www.futuretimeline.net/the-far-future.htm

Nomen est omen, you can imagine, what this page is about. :)

Open the page, scroll to 4000 AD, and you'll find:

"New applications can be generated instantly and automatically, for almost any purpose."

Scroll back to 3100 AD and you can read:

"Under the direction of a Godlike superintelligence, vast swarms of automated, self-replicating ships are building it - using material from the asteroid field, Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud."

Just to make the anachronism visible:

2011 - developed applications

3100 - Godlike superintelligence

4000 - instant applications

What happened between 3100 and 4000? A 6th world war? Why would we go back to applications, after we had superintelligence?!

The page might be interesting in the sense of science fiction, but it's missing serious consideration, or maybe different people were writing predictions for different time windows.

Spiders on International Space Station

2011-05-14T10:37:00.005+02:00

Space Shuttle Endeavour is waiting for the final lunch. This final mission of Endeavour will probably start only on May 16. The last two launches were canceled; the reason of the delays was some technical problems. One of the main assignments of this final mission will prepare an interesting space research. I want to write now about this futuristic space story.

If we check the list of STS-134 crew members, we can find two “spidernauts”. This situation can be really easy integrated in a sci-fi screenplay, the spiders will escape and the contact with International Space Station (ISS) will suddenly interrupt… But, the truth is, there are already some spiders on ISS and the researchers are investigating the arachnid habits in microgravity environment.

In this special condition, the geometry of different spider webs will be studied. The new “spidernauts” (Nephila clavipes) spin asymmetric three dimensional webs and the most important question is how these spiders will construct a 3D web in low gravity. The other two spiders (Larinioides patagiatus and Metepeira) were launched to the ISS in 2008 and these spiders spin two dimensional webs on Earth. The researcher will compare the different webs of various spiders in low gravity. I think, we can learn lot of new facts about the webs of spiders during the mission!

The fruit flies will be the nourishment of the spiders, but the astronauts on ISS will also study the mobility and flight patterns of the fruit flies during the research program. You can follow this program on bioedonline.org and you can find some interesting teaching materials about this experience!

Source: nasa.gov

Help Solve an Open Murder Case - alternative methods?

2011-04-06T20:05:00.002+02:00

“Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea.”

Good luck!

I would like to investigate these two texts, like images, because the spatial patterns of the "characters" could give some additional information...but I think, the forensic researchers have already tried this method :)

link and source: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911

Predator by Zdenek Kalal

2011-04-02T15:51:00.002+02:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GhNXHCQGsM

More Quadritopters! Now Juggling!!

2011-03-31T01:12:00.002+02:00

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/28/quadrocopters-juggle-balls-cooperatively-mesmerize-with-their-l/

Kinect+Quadrocopter

2011-03-26T08:27:00.002+01:00

"Researchers at the Hybrid Systems Laboratory at UC Berkeley mounted a Kinect sensor atop their Ascending Technologies Pelican quadrotor UAV, mapping the copter’s surroundings so it can avoid obstacles while traveling along a predetermined, programmed path."

source: www.popsci.com

Mount Rushmore in 3-D

2011-03-26T08:19:00.003+01:00

Great work! Info: http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/metrology-article/international-team-scans-entire-mt-rushmore-3-d.html
I like this picture. :)

Source:www.qualitydigest.com

Augmenting Earth Maps With Dynamic Information

2011-01-02T19:28:00.001+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPk88soc2qw

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/cpl/projects/augearth/

http://gizmodo.com/5371017/google-earth-will-track-cars-and-people-in-real-time-eventually-destroy-privacy

Kinect paired with Vuzix

2011-01-02T19:24:00.004+01:00

Happy new year with this video!

You may mute down your computer, but the idea of pairing body recognition and virtual reality is gross..

Enjoy! :)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/21/kinect-paired-with-vuzix-vr920-shades-creates-zany-virtual-real/

TreeMetrics - the solution in forestry survey

2010-12-16T20:06:00.004+01:00

I want to introduce the TreeMetrics, because this company developed a new forestry survey method with terrestrial laserscanning systems. The aim of this technique can be summarized in one sentence: The exact volume calculation of trees provides better product recovery in the sawmill. In addition, this workflow offers a forest condition monitoring opportunity, which can reduce the time of ecological returns. You will find more information on this webpage:

http://www.treemetrics.com/index.php

Source: TreeMetrics

GPS coordinates estimation and camera calibration from solar shadows

2010-12-10T22:09:00.003+01:00

Today, I want to present a new research about GPS coordinates estimation. The geolocation calculation of the digital camera was accomplished by using the shadow trajectories. Video sequences were analyzed by this technique in downtown Washington DC and the camera calibration was feasible with the camera footage as well.
I think, this research offers a very useful method in the forensic science!You will find the full paper here: http://cil.cs.ucf.edu/pdf/Junejo_Foroosh_CVIU2010.pdf

source: http://cil.cs.ucf.edu/

Laser Scanning - A Guide to Good Practice

2010-12-09T20:02:00.003+01:00

I want to share this link:

http://guides.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/g2gp/LaserScan_Toc

In this guide you will find the significant information of archaeological documentation with laser scanner systems. Other survey methods were introduced in this tutorial as well. Have fun! :)

3D video stream with 2 Kinects

2010-12-09T01:49:00.003+01:00

What you see in the picture is a computer generated image, not an actual video.

With two Kinects this guy was able to create and show a 3D model of the video stream on the fly.

So, this picture is not seen by any cameras, but created with the instant merge of two different videostreams! (one from the right, and one from the left)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-w7UXCAUJE

The future is coming

2010-12-09T01:40:00.003+01:00

Today - the first time in my life - I saw a 3D TV.

Tough it was only a slow animation of an engine rotating, it was clearly 3D.

We were in a hurry, so the experience lasted only for 5 seconds, but now it's official: the future is near. :)

Realtime Procedurally Animated Spiders

2010-11-22T11:45:00.002+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1P_B65XW4I

3D Augmented Reality Car

2010-11-09T12:26:00.001+01:00

http://www.thefutureisawesome.com/2008/02/06/3d-augmented-reality-car-demo-video/

I want one for XMas!! :)

Kurzweil meets Maes-Garreau

2010-09-02T13:18:00.003+02:00

You have heard about Kurzweil for sure, who is predicting, that singularity will arrive around 2025.

But you may have not heard about the Maes-Garreau law:

it states people tend to make predictions within their reach, ie. within their lifetime.

So, happyness will arrive when we are celebrating our 70th birthday. :)

So, it will affect us, and we have enough time till then to imagine a lot of sci-fi technologies to become available. Win-win situation: Kurzweil's prediction will become true (good for him), and we'll reach singularity (good for everyone).

But why isn't Kurzweil commenting on Maes-Garreau?

In this case it is clear, that he went all-in with his prediction.

Self-fulfilling prophecies are better left untouched.

If he really wants this [the Singularity] happen, he better shows the world that he is really convinced. If he is all-in, he should not have a B-plan. He should invest all his money in R&D field.

Hope for singularity is a blitzkrieg against eternity.

He has no time to care about such a ridiculous observation as Maes-Garreau...

And if he were to comment it, he would show that he has doubts.

Anyway, the whole concept of singularity is fiction.

Future will not arrive at a given point in time, but slowly suffusing our lives.

And it is not technology, that will create our future, but us.. Yes, this is the bad news: if you want something out of it, you have to make it.

Hear my final words: I don't believe in singularity, at least it won't arrive before 2052.. ;)

International LIDAR Mapping Forum 2011

2010-06-22T12:14:00.002+02:00

Great event in New Orleans!

"ILMF 2011 will showcase more than 50 leading companies in this rapidly growing global market. Exhibitors include the LIDAR and complementary sensor manufacturers, survey service companies, data processing, GIS and management specialists and the latest mobile mapping vehicles."

info and source: http://www.lidarmap.org/ILMF.aspx

GIS Applications - Biodiversity Geographic Information System

2010-06-18T14:18:00.003+02:00

I want to present a great research about a Biodiversity Geographic Information System. 2010 is the year of biodeversity. I think, this application represents also an importat part of the protectection of bidiversity.

"Goals: To achieve the aim of creating a network of natural resources and ecological data, this project belongs to Natural Resources and Ecology GIS Database of the "10-year Plan for Building and Promoting National Geographic Information System" and promotes to build up the basis of data and databases. The system of data standardization assists the data interoperability and sharing. Also, the internet technologies enable developers to build up a web platform for front-end query, display, and back-end management. Thus, users can browse, query, add, and manage the species data through a browser to achieve the goal of central management, distributed applications, and data sharing and to improve the data use efficiency."

source: http://www.supergeotek.com

Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing - Book Review

2010-06-11T11:15:00.003+02:00

Reviewed by
Jason A. Tullis, Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of
Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas

"Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing targets a multidisciplinary environmental research audience with a detailed discussion of topographic lidar, including its history, technology, calibration, quality, and management as well as a variety of techniques for lidar-assisted information extraction. This book is organized into 19 chapters, with 29 contributors from academic, commercial, and governmental organizations in the United States, Finland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Austria, China, France, and the United Kingdom. A signifi cant number of grayscale fi gures, tables, and equations are complemented by chapter-level references, 12 color fi gures, an index, and a key to abbreviations. The 19 chapters are logically organized into four parts...."

more information and source: http://www.asprs.org/publications/pers/2009journal/october/review.pdf

Lidar Analysis in ArcGIS 9.3.1 for Forestry Applications

2010-06-10T15:28:00.002+02:00

Great new tutorial! If you work with ArcGIS and LiDAR datasets, you must download this document!

http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/lidar-analysis-forestry.pdf

Global Mapper v11 free trial

2010-06-09T11:37:00.003+02:00

You can download Global Mapper v11 free trial version.
Great software!

Link:

http://www.globalmapper.com/

MeshLab tutorials

2010-06-02T10:28:00.002+02:00

hallo everybody,

here is a great blog about the opensource MeshLab software:

http://meshlabstuff.blogspot.com/

Mapping Ancient Civilization - New York Times

2010-05-12T10:28:00.002+02:00

"For a quarter of a century, two archaeologists and their team slogged through wild tropical vegetation to investigate and map the remains of one of the largest Maya cities, in Central America. Slow, sweaty hacking with machetes seemed to be the only way to discover the breadth of an ancient urban landscape now hidden beneath a dense forest canopy...."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/science/11maya.html

Interesting article in NYTimes!

Spatial analysis of the Bronze Age sites of the region of Paphos in southwest Cyprus with the use of Geographical Information Systems - CAA

2010-05-09T16:22:00.002+02:00

Surface analysis is also a very popular research area in GIS/Archaeology. I want to write more about Least-Cost Analysis in GIS later.

This work was mede by:
University of Cyprus, Archaeological Research Unit and Laboratory of Geophysical – Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeo-environment, Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Foundation for Research and Technology

Part of Introcuction:

"The paper aims to study the Bronze Age site
distribution in the region of Paphos in SW Cyprus in
order to interpret site patterns. In the context of the
Paphos pilot project, entitled, “A long-term response
to the need to make modern development and the
preservation of the archaeo-cultural record mutually
compatible operations” (IACOVOU et al. 2009),
spatial analysis was performed, with the use of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), on sites of
the Early, Middle and Late Cypriot period (3rd and
2nd millennium BC) that have been reported from
the region to this date...."

Underwater 3D shape reconstruction by fringe projection - CAA

2010-05-09T15:55:00.004+02:00

Hallo everybody!

Sorry for the long time...

My second fovourite presentatiton was from CAA: "Underwater 3D shape reconstruction by fringe projection"
Great research at the University of Calabria, Italy (Bianco, G., Bruno, F., Muzzupappa, M., Luchi, M.L.).
Our Institute accomplished a big camera calibration project for underwater archaeological documentation, which was an interesting topic.

Part of Introcuction:

"....In this work, we have tested the effectiveness of a
whole-field structured light technique, based on
fringe projection, in underwater environment. The
Fringe Projection Technique (FPT) is widely used in
air (RASTOGI and GORTHI, 2010), and consists of
projection and acquisition of sinusoidal patterns on
the object (in the simplest case, one pattern is
enough). The system is composed by a video
projector and a digital camera, and the geometrical
setup is based on the principle of optical
triangulation. The recorded images are analyzed to
evaluate the phase-map of the object - which contains
the height information - with a signal processing
technique such as Fourier Transform (FT) , Wavelet
Transform (WT) , Windowed Fourier Transform
(WFT) , Spatial Phase Detection (SPD) or Phase
Stepping (PS). Any of these techniques of phase
measurement provides a discontinuous phase map of
the object (wrapped): so it becomes necessary to use
phase unwrapping in order to obtain a continuous
phase distribution (SURREL, 1998). By knowing the
intrinsic (focal distances, coordinates of the principal
points, and distortions) and extrinsic (relative
positions between the optical devises) parameters,
one can calculate the point clouds from the
triangulation between a optical ray of the camera (at
i,j pixel with phase value φi,j) and the relative plane
in the projector frame at the same phase value...."

Simple, reliable 2.5D photography

2010-04-25T22:46:00.004+02:00

More and more people are experimenting with home-made, cheap 3D scanning devices, or something similar:

http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/25d/

Dynamic Models to Reconstruct Ancient Landscapes - CAA

2010-04-20T11:47:00.002+02:00

"In this paper a method of landscape analysis is
demonstrated through raster-based digital elevation
models (DEM) using the case-study of the Helike
Delta, Gulf of Corinth, Greece. In the Classical
Period, Helike was the seat of the Achaean League
and the worship centre of the god Helikonian
Poseidon. With the focus on the earthquake and
tsunami of 373BC, DEMs are generated using
dynamic models of sea level rise, tectonic and pulse
tectonic uplift, subsidence, and sediment deposition.
Starting with a DEM from the present day
landscape, simulated DEM models are generated for
the Early Helladic (2500-2100BC), Classical (480-
323BC), Hellenistic (323-1st Century BC), and
Roman (1st Century BC – 4th Century AD) periods...."

This presentation was the first which I saw. Landscape reconstruction is a very popular research direction. We try to create new digital terrain models with surface analysis. After this step, it is possible to visualize the environment changes.

That was a great presentation from Mariza Kormann and Gary Lock, University of Oxford.

Workshop III - The CIDOC conceptual reference model as a tool for integrating cultural information - CAA

2010-04-19T09:34:00.004+02:00

"This seminar is about the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM), a top-level ontology and ISO standard (ISO21127:2006) for the semantic integration of cultural information. It will explain the scope and objectives of the model. It will detail the construction principles used and the major concepts it defines.

In order to use the model for information integration, multiple data structures have to be mapped to the model, so that data contents can be transformed automatically into a CRM compatible form and be merged. Alternatively, the mappings can be used to transform queries against the CRM into queries against local data structures. The mapping is the critical step, in which the domain expert’s knowledge is needed. IT tools can automatically execute later steps. The mapping process also shows compatibility with the CRM.

The seminar will explain in practical examples and exercises how to map a data structure to the CIDOC CRM."

I found the second and the third Workshop really interesting.

Open source software are in the focus of future work. MESHLAB is a also a great opensource program. Mesh and edit of point cloud are possible in this software.

Next days I want to present the most interesting works.

source: caa2010.org

Sculpting a Large Bust of Bethoven

2010-04-15T18:08:00.003+02:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjMJOfCyDaA

Ancient Cockroach Relative Revealed in 3D

2010-04-14T21:09:00.002+02:00

"... The researchers created their images using a CT scanning device, based at the Natural History Museum in London, which enabled them to take 3142 x-rays of the fossil and compile the images into an accurate 3-D model, creating a 'virtual fossil' of the creature, using specially designed computer software. The scientists used the models to visualize the Archimylacris eggintoni's legs, antennae, mouth parts and body, which had never been seen by human eyes before. ..."

source: http://www.livescience.com/animals/ancient-cockroach-relative-100413.html

More Efficient Solar Panel by MIT

2010-04-08T22:36:00.002+02:00

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/04/08/solar-origami-mit-working-on-super-efficient-folded-solar-panels/

Workshop II - An introduction to open source GIS: GRASS - CAA

2010-04-07T18:29:00.001+02:00

"Grass is the leader open source GIS nowadays. It manage both raster and vector information, 2D and 3D models, and can be used on different operating systems and platforms. features more than 350 functions, including image processing, raster analysis, import and export, and vector and network analysis.

GIS are frequently used for archaeologist as a documentation tool, and also to analyse archaeological data. For this purpose it is necessary to have a powerful GIS system with a complete set of analysis tools.

Open source software is a wonderful choice for this purpose. As anyone can improve the system and add new functionality, open source systems are more dynamic.

One of the main characteristic of Grass GIS is that it can be operated, besides the usual graphical user interface, from the operating system shell. This provides it with a powerful scripting capability.

This workshop aims to introduce in a concise way the main functionality of Grass and its usage paradigms. Special attention will be devoted to the scripting capability. Basic GIS knowledge is required."

source: caa2010.org

Workshop I - Laser Scanner Systems for Archeological Surveys - CAA

2010-04-06T10:19:00.000+02:00

"This workshop pretends to divulgate information on The State of the Art of the laser scanner technology as far as the software and hardware is concerned when solving the usual problems encountered on arqueological surveys.

To this end, we are limiting ourselves to the description of the features offered by a Laser Scanner system, model IMAGER 5006i, manufacturer by Z+F in Germany as well as the software programs JRC Reconstructor and Cloud Cube.

The problems we will focus on are the following:

Logistic and portability of the equipment, in the concern that field work sites are not always easy to access
Need of facing small and big objects with high accuracy

The IMAGER 5006i laser scanner concentrates its power on the following characteristics:

Very high speed in data acquisition combined with high resolution on the captured files. This feature makes it valid either for surveys of great targets at very far distances or when we are surveying small pieces at close range.
The system is very easy to set up and handle. The equipment can be configured without requiring any external connections. This feature is tremendously appreciated as far as the arqueological field work is concerned. Since the batteries, the data storage unit and the file configuration processor are part of the unit, it is not necessary to connect or use any other external complement to perform the data capture. This feature facilitates the work in scenarios which can be uncomfortable, far from urban areas and often of difficult access.
Capacity for data acquisition when working with targets coloured close to black.
Merging of images captured using the complementary camera with the scanner acquired data, in a integral and automatic fashion, for each of the scenes involved.

With regard to the software programs, we will discuss them in the same manner as we will discuss the hardware and we will try to demonstrate the tools which are used to solve the most common problems in handling the data acquired with the laser scanner: large files corresponding the huge clouds of points within the Auto Cad environment; how the final products are obtained, including profiles, cross sections, contours and volumes; all of them directly on DXF format or on some other CAD compatible systems.

Finally we will explain the working procedures and proper tools to be used to obtain the final products mentioned above: profiles, volumes, slopes, DTM, surface comparisons, and how to obtain the different results on DXF files or on files which are compatible with other CAD systems, in concrete we will discuss the following characteristics:

Possibility of registering different files without requiring man-made marks, only using natural marks.
Work aids to digitize plans, profiles and cross sections in general, starting with the cloud of points; all within the Auto CAD environment.
Automatic generation of a wire mesh, over flats or curved surfaces by using average cross lines or cross planes.
Integration of different data capture files in only one using a common reference system .
Work aids to be used in the generation of a wire mesh.
Registration of different survey files when the target has been changed in position or location while the scan files were being taken."

source: www.caa2010.org

Book Flipping Scanning - University of Tokyo

2010-04-03T15:57:00.001+02:00

Book flipping scanning system developed at University of Tokyo, great research!

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCOXC5PTJj8&feature=player_embedded#

TerraFormatics Live Report CAA, Granada

2010-04-03T14:23:00.004+02:00

Hallo everybody,

we will send on next week some information from CAA. The program of the congress is very interesting, lot of laser scanning case studies, great meeting!

First day

Tuesday great workshops: Laser Scanner systems for Archeological surveys, Digital Documentation in Archaeology, Use of 3D techniques in Cultural Heritage……

More news later!

Program on this website: http://www.caa2010.org/

IP-S2 - High Accuracy Mobile Mapping System

2010-03-31T14:27:00.003+02:00

"The IP-S2 provides fast, safe GIS data collection at a cost well below conventional ground mapping methods and it has flexible options for mounting on a vehicle.

Features include:

High definition mobile 3D mapping
Dual-frequency GNSS tracking
High-accuracy 6-axis IMU integration
Odometry inputs from on-board vehicle CAN bus or wheel encoders
Supports mutliple laser scanner models for operation and application flexibility"

source: http://www.theppigroup.com/campaign.html?campaign=IPS2

3D map of dark matter (by Hubble)

2010-03-30T17:48:00.001+02:00

http://news.discovery.com/space/hubble-3d-map-universe-dark-matter.html

Reshynthesizer plugin on GIMP

2010-03-27T14:25:00.003+01:00

GIMP is an open source software for picture editing.

With this plugin you can remove unnecessary objects on a picture.

http://newslily.com/blogs/96

Aerotec Provides Airborne LIDAR for IBM’s

2010-03-26T10:16:00.001+01:00

"Aerotec, LLC recently provided airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for IBM's "Smarter Planet" series of videos. “Data Anthem” was produced by Ogilvy & Mather New York and directed by James Frost of Zoo Films. Aerotec's airborne LIDAR was used for the opening scene and some of the follow-on scenes. The videos sought to use the most compelling, arresting ways of visualizing actual data to complement the message of the importance of data, the context for its proliferation, and the enormous opportunities that lie within it....."

great video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cj6VtYpBI4

source: http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=804303

The Handyscan 3D Technology

2010-03-21T08:44:00.003+01:00

„The first self-positioning and only truly portable handheld laser scanners
The Handyscan 3D line, by Creaform, has revolutionized the industry by accelerating and simplifying scanning processes, particularly for the design, manufacturing, and inspection of all types of parts and assemblies…..”

Looks like a laser gun in star wars…. :)

source: http://www.nosco.com.sg/handyscan_3d

David Laserscannar and Lego Technic

2010-03-21T08:33:00.003+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32JhAYTfep4

Nice work! :)

How robots think

2010-03-19T13:14:00.002+01:00

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/how-robots-think.ars/4

The World’s First Printed Building

2010-03-16T13:28:00.001+01:00

http://www.blueprintmagazine.co.uk/index.php/architecture/the-worlds-first-printed-building/

Nose scanners - the new face of biometrics?

2010-03-16T08:57:00.000+01:00

http://www.silicon.com/technology/security/2010/03/11/photos-nose-scanners-the-new-face-of-biometrics-39745574/#story

Tulip

2010-03-08T14:47:00.002+01:00

Graph visualization, open source project: Tulip

http://tulip.labri.fr/TulipDrupal/

News: Topcon’s GLS-1500 Laser Scanner

2010-03-02T10:55:00.003+01:00

„The GLS-1500 features include:

· 30,000 precise points per second. 10 times faster data collection than previous models;

· Precise Scan Technology for industry-leading clean point cloud data;

· Lens array optics technology to maintain distance accuracy from 1-150 meters;

· Additional ranging past 330 meters;

· Onboard scan control software stores scan data and images to a standard SD card for easy download;

· Eye-safe and invisible Class 1 laser."

(Photo: Business Wiere)

Fill in the Blanks: Using Math to Turn Lo-Res Datasets Into Hi-Res Samples

2010-02-26T15:21:00.001+01:00

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_algorithm/all/1

5th International Workshop on 3D Geo Information, 3-4 November 2010, Berlin

2010-02-23T09:25:00.002+01:00

"The 5th International 3D GeoInfo Conference 2010 aims at bringing together international state-of-the-art research and facilitating the dialogue on emerging topics in the field of 3D geo-information. In recent years, research has focused on improving 3D data acquisition technology through remote sensing, photogrammetry, laser altimetry techniques (LiDAR), and visualization technology (3D CAD and Virtual Reality (VR) system) for 3D urban environments...."

source and more information: http://www.igg.tu-berlin.de/3dgeoinfo/

call for papers: http://www.igg.tu-berlin.de/3dgeoinfo/cfp.pdf

iPhone Camera for a 3D Project

2010-02-22T12:28:00.002+01:00

I like PhotoModeler, you can create in this program excellent 3D model with texture!

You can use only iPhone with fixed lens as a survey instrument, sounds great... :)
Here is a good example:

".....The photos were loaded into PhotoModeler Scanner, marked for key points and oriented (PhotoModeler figures out where the iPhone was at the time of each exposure). Then the DSM (dense surface modeling) algorithm was run on the photos to produce dense point clouds - like a laser scan would do but all correctly tied together...."

Source and more information: http://www.photomodeler.com/applications/other/iPhone_Inukshuk.htm

LizardTech - LiDAR File Compression

2010-02-18T12:04:00.001+01:00

“LiDAR Compressor compresses your LiDAR data to the industry standard MrSID format, trusted as a raster format by geospatial professionals since 1992 and supported in virtually all GIS applications. With the release of LiDAR Compressor LizardTech unveils a new and improved version of the format, MrSID Generation 4 (MG4). It's still LizardTech and it's still MrSID, so you know you're using the highest quality file format with the most advanced compression technology available. MG4 enables you to view and access your LiDAR data faster.”

LiDAR Compressor costs: 2995$

Source and more information: http://www.lizardtech.com/products/lidar/

Airborne Laser Testbed Successful in Lethal Intercept Experiment

2010-02-14T11:09:00.004+01:00

"The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB) successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile. The experiment, conducted at Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range off the central California coast, serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration for directed energy technology. The ALTB is a pathfinder for the nation’s directed energy program and its potential application for missile defense technology....."

source and more information: http://www.mda.mil/news/10news0002.html

News: DAVID Laserscanner v2.5.1

2010-02-11T14:37:00.003+01:00

New version of low cost DAVID 3D scanner is arrived! It is only 400$, good solution to scan small objects!
Popular low-cost 3D scanner: http://www.david-laserscanner.com/laserscanner.com/

If you want to make alone a 3D scanner, here is a good example (homemade laser scanners): http://www.muellerr.ch/engineering/overview.html

Augmented reality, a vision of the future

2010-02-11T12:53:00.003+01:00

http://vimeo.com/8569187

Interesting to see here, that augmented reality is used for advertising (on a massive scale), and only a little bit of useful information.

But this is only a utopia. Maybe it will really be used to gather and visualize information about ancient buildings, and old churches in town..

Point Clouds from Imagery

2010-02-11T12:38:00.002+01:00

"Get ready to generate high-resolution terrain information from your stereo imagery like never before. LPS eATE is a new technology for automatic terrain extraction, providing an unparalleled environment for processing terrain data. " -source: ERDAS

link: http://www.erdas.com/Resources/Webinars/UpcomingWebinars/tabid/91/currentid/3381/objectid/3381/default.aspx

The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Denver, USA

2010-02-10T14:46:00.003+01:00

"How LiDAR is being used in Haiti

A new last minute addition to the International LiDAR Mapping Forum conference program will include two presentations on how LiDAR is being used in Haiti to assess the damage from the recent earthquake and the future probability of subsequent earthquakes.

Imagery of the region damaged by the M 7 Haiti earthquake, including high-resolution photography and airborne LiDAR, has revealed a variety of ground failure that resulted from shaking. Surprisingly, the Enriquillo Fault seems to have not ruptured at the ground surface, so the negative result obtained from imagery has significant implications. The USGS issued a statement, based on imagery analysis, that because it is clear that the rupture of the Enriquillo Fault was clearly farther west than Port-au-Prince, and because rupture was buried deep on the fault, there is a significant risk of not only regular aftershocks, but also the threat of a subsequent large event that could occur even closer to Port-au-Prince. The probability of one or more subsequent earthquakes of M 7 or greater increased by about 3% for the 30 days following 21 January 2010. Although this is a low probability, it would be a potentially very high impact event. High-resolution imagery was crucial to this assessment." - source: www.lidarmap.org

Program: http://www.lidarmap.org/conference/ILMF10_ConferenceProgram.pdf

New Book: Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning

2010-02-09T14:17:00.002+01:00

"Written by a team of international experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the major applications of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning. The book focuses on principles and methods and presents an integrated treatment of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning technology."

link: http://www.librario.com/2472

MakerBot - affordable, opne source 3D printer

2010-02-04T11:41:00.004+01:00

The result of laser scanner documentation is mostly a digital 3D model. You can make physical replicas of the digital models with this open source 3D printer! Very good concept on this website!

http://www.makerbot.com/

The new Trimble CX scanner

2010-02-03T11:43:00.002+01:00

The announcement was made at World of Concrete 2010.

This high-accuracy sensor captures more than 50,000 position points per second - enough data to record the details of a target's shape, size and position.

More Information: http://trl.trimble.com/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-479635/022504-111_Trimble_CX_DS_1109_LR.pdf

Mapping Riparian Vegetation with Lidar Data

2010-02-02T14:34:00.006+01:00

Combining GIS and lidar data enabled predictive mapping for riparian areas for a portion of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Riparian areas pose many problems for vegetation modeling because of their narrow width, dendritic pattern, and the sensitivity of plant species to subtle changes in topography that cannot be easily recorded by coarse-scale digital elevation models (DEMs). Vegetation mapping and monitoring in riparian areas have relied heavily on field-based surveys that record the distribution of plant communities along transects perpendicular to the river. Typically, these studies also collect ancillary variables, such as stage elevation or height above the river (HAR), soil texture, and soil moisture, that are used to predict the distribution of vegetation types. However, these methods are extremely time consuming and do not allow for the development of predictive maps because the data collected cannot easily be extrapolated to a larger region. GIS and lidar data provide an opportunity to derive variables, such as HAR, for large areas, making wall-to-wall predictive mapping a possibility.“

Interesting paper, authors: By Thomas E. Dilts, Jian Yang, and Peter J. Weisberg, University of Nevada, Reno

ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension was used, good example to create a model with ArcGIS from LiDAR dataset.

Link: http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0110/files/mapping-with-lidar.pdf

Laser fusion, first ignition this year

2010-02-01T11:38:00.001+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8485669.stm

Sunset

2010-01-31T09:25:00.002+01:00

"Layers of Earth's atmosphere, brightly colored as the sun sets, are featured in this image taken by the STS-127 crew on the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Endeavour. This image was taken on July 29, 2009, one day before the shuttle landed, completing a 16-day, 6.5-million mile journey.

Image Credit: NASA"

link: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

USS Missouri Point Cloud Animation

2010-01-28T13:58:00.002+01:00

"Point cloud animation of the USS Missouri (BB-63). The entire external hull of the ship was documented in January 2010 while in dry-dock by team headed by Smart GeoMetrics..."

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPtT4LXwMBs&feature=player_embedded

New Home Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Laser Vision RPS Technology

2010-01-27T11:23:00.002+01:00

"The Neato XV-11 is the first mapping robot with intelligent path planning and cleaning. Using RPS Technology, the Neato XV-11 has a 360-degree view of a room, allowing it to map the details including walls, furniture, doorways and other obstacles up to four meters away. Unlike other cleaning robots that randomly bounce around a room, the Neato XV-11 maps the room with its RPS Technology. It then methodically cleans floors using SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) technology and path planning algorithms to outline the area to clean and then fully clean within the space in a back-and-forth pattern."

Funny presentation of this laser based vacuum cleaner. Like "War of the Worlds" for the powerless ants... :)
youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXKAjBqTGLo

Conference in Granada: CAA 2010

2010-01-25T19:36:00.002+01:00

The XXXVIII Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology

Typical CAA topics include:

agent-based models,
bioarchaeology,
CIDOC and other digital standards,
databases,
3D data capture and modeling,
data management systems and other field applications,
GIS,
predictive modeling,
open source software in archaeology,
photogrammetry and imaging,
prospection and remote sensing,
quantitative methods,
high precision surveying,
virtual museums,
virtual reality.

more information on this website:

http://www.caa2010.org/

Path finding algorithms

2010-01-25T13:06:00.004+01:00

A nice article about AI pathfinding in modern AAA title computer games:

http://www.ai-blog.net/archives/000152.html

Don't worry, it does not contain any piece of source code.. lot of pictures, no hard math.

Entertainment videos

2010-01-22T10:44:00.003+01:00

What Earth would look like with rings like Saturn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoz5Q2rGQtQ

Simply amazing.. but we still have a wonder: total eclipse.

So you dont have to envy Saturnians..

(And since total eclipse is a rare event, it is affecting our imagination much more.

Having rings would be nice, but total eclipse is a more arcane something..)

CIA laser listener:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylo72DyapVY

The problem with Discovery channel is, that most of the time it's entertaining, but if it is about your field, sometimes it sounds ridiculous. So, if it's entertaining: maybe you don't understand something. It has to be popular, so they are colouring stories.

A friend of mine from the field of biology told me, that the pictures about oceanic life are really wonderful (even though most of these were shot in aquariums), but often they say misleading sentences about those beautiful fishes. I'm simply enjoying it, but he can tell the mistakes.

(Even worst, if you're watching it dubbed, not in English: once I heard the "those tanks ran on mine" phrase translated with the meaning of "mine" as in "goldmine."

First I did not understand: what? Those tanks were driving on a mine? Then I figured, they said in the dubbed version "goldmine" instead of "landmine." I can't believe no one spotted it at the dubbing studio, but it still has happened.)

So it's good for entertaining, but if you want information: go there and see with your own eyes!

LizardTech Releases MG4 Decode Tool

2010-01-22T10:10:00.002+01:00

Nice program!

“Our goal is to create easy-to-use, efficient tools for geospatial professionals,”
said Jon Skiffington, LizardTech’s director of marketing. “With the release of MG4 Decode, users will be able to use a simple graphical interface to turn their compressed MrSID LiDAR files back to LAS or text format.”

Free download:

http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_options.php?page=tools

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica

2010-01-21T12:44:00.002+01:00

"The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) is the first true-color, high-spatial-resolution image of the seventh continent. It is constructed from nearly 1100 individually selected Landsat-7 ETM+ scenes. Each image was orthorectified and adjusted for geometric, sensor and illumination variations to a standardized, almost seamless surface reflectance product. Mosaicing to avoid clouds produced a high quality, nearly cloud-free benchmark data set of Antarctica for the International Polar Year from images collected primarily during 1999–2003...."

I like movies, one of my favorite is “The Thing” in the sci-fi/horror category. The story plays on an Antarctic research station. The man can feel on this place the weakness, it is impossible to get help. If I could choose between ice and desert, like extreme places on the earth, I would like to travel to Antarctica. Darkness and nothing (wintertime)…. It is peaceful!

link:

http://lima.usgs.gov/

Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning and geomorphology: possibilities, problems, and solutions

2010-01-19T10:48:00.002+01:00

New Congress in Vienna:

European Geosciences Union
General Assembly 2010
Vienna, Austria, 02 – 07 May 2010

On this general assembly: "Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Geomorphology" The session number is GM 2.2

"....Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is also increasingly applied for fast data capture of the surface, e.g., in detection and monitoring of mass movements and in other geomorphic studies requiring high accuracy and frequent repetition.
The application of both laser scanning technique results in data sets characterised by enormous data sizes, extremely high accuracy (up to cm-scale) and very high resolution. These properties compensate for the efforts invested in the data processing, however it means new challenges for the geomorphic evaluation. The wealth of laser scanning-derived DTMs can be used for geomorphic analyses in various forms (point cloud, TIN, grid) for analysis in flood-endangered regions, for natural hazard analyses like mass movements and are almost unbeatable in surface modelling of mountainous and karstic areas. They are also highly applicable in environmental change studies concerning the change in snow and ice coverage, soil creep, etc....."

Link:

http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2010/session/3080

AN INTEGRATED WORKFLOW FOR LIDAR / OPTICAL DATA MAPPING FOR SECURITY APPLICATIONS

2010-01-18T13:04:00.002+01:00

SECURITY APPLICATIONS:

"ABSTRACT:

This paper elucidates the potential of LiDAR data for information generation for security applications. The study is embedded in the EU Network of Excellence GMOSS. General, security applications cover a large area from infrastructure monitoring (e.g. power stations, pipelines) or border monitoring to less tangible threats like terrorism and civil security / homeland security. It is demonstrated that for those security applications where the birds eye view can generally provide useful information LiDAR data are increasingly a valuable source of information, either stand alone or – preferable – in combination with optical data. The empirical work focuses on the extraction of some buildings and power lines. It is demonstrated that aggregated grid data in form of a DTM and DSM are only partially suitable to extract linear and point-type features such as power lines or small power transformation stations. Detectability clearly depends on the spatial resolution but generally 3D point clouds from first and last pulse information allow more sophisticated object extraction methods."

Full paper:

http://earth.definiens.com/sites/default/files/319_139_full.pdf

Integration of regional to outcrop digital data: 3D visualisation

2010-01-15T14:06:00.003+01:00

A very interesting paper....

"Abstract

Multi-scale geological models contain three-dimensional, spatially referenced data, typically spanning at least six orders of magnitude from outcrop to regional scale. A large number of different geological and geophysical data sources can be combined into a single model. Established 3D visualisation methods that are widely used in hydrocarbon exploration and production for sub-surface data have been adapted for onshore surface geology through a combination of methods for digital data acquisition, 3D visualisation, and geospatial analysis. The integration of georeferenced data across a wider than normal range in scale helps to address several of the existing limitations that are inherent in traditional methods of map production and publishing. The primary advantage of a multi-scale approach is that spatial precision and dimensionality (which are generally degraded when data are displayed in 2D at a single scale) can be preserved at all scales. Real-time, immersive, interactive software, based on a ‘‘3D geospatial’’ graphical user interface (GUI), allows complex geological architectures to be depicted, and is more inherently intuitive than software based on a standard ‘‘desktop’’ GUI metaphor. The continuing convergence of different kinds of geo-modelling, GIS, and visualisation software, as well as industry acceptance of standardised middleware, has helped to make multi-scale geological models a practical reality. Thisis illustrated with two case studies from NE England and NW Scotland."

Global Mapper and Basic Visualization of GEON LiDAR Workflow Products

2010-01-14T12:09:00.002+01:00

I like Global Mapper, cheap GIS program. You can create orthophotos in this program. The fine visualization of LIDAR datasets is possible, as well. Here is a link, a tutorial, how does it work…..

http://cws.unavco.org:8080/cws/learn/uscs/2008/2008Lidar/handouts/Global_Mapper_and_GLW.pdf

Building of robust multi-scale representations of LiDAR-based digital terrain model based on scale-space theory

2010-01-13T11:01:00.003+01:00

DTMs are the most important products of airborne laser scanning systems. I search frequently the new methods….here is an example (title...) from Tarig A. Ali, very interesting research! More in "Optics and Lasers in Engineering" - 03. 2010

Until march....

And what is scale-space theory?

http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~misha/Fall07/Papers/intro-to-scalespace.pdf

1001 Wonders > Europe > Benelux > Netherlands > Rietveld Schröder : map

2010-01-12T09:29:00.002+01:00

Nice work! Panorama pictures give us good solutions to create fine visualizations!

http://www.world-heritage-tour.org/europe/benelux/netherlands/rietveld-schroder/map.html

Virtual Archaeologists Recreate Parts of Ancient Worlds

2010-01-12T09:03:00.003+01:00

Hallo everybody!

Happy New Year! Sorry for the long time...December was not the best month. :)

My favorite new paper from Michael Bawaya:

"Archaeologists are using computers to recreate the environment and conditions of the past, including objects, buildings, and landscapes with human actors, such as ancient battles. The field is a natural evolution of archaeology in the digital age. And although virtual archaeology arose in the mid-1990s, it is only now going mainstream, as archaeologists realize the benefits of using computers to make the most of their necessarily incomplete data and as costs go down. Archaeologists argue that virtual worlds offer the best way to test complex hypotheses. The field also gets a boost from the entertainment industry: The technology is the same as that used in video games and movie special effects, and many universities have recently added 3D modeling programs......."

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5962/140