Transcript Flexible image comparisons in AntWeb

ANTWEB
(www.antweb.org)
Providing tools for exploring the
diversity
and identification of ants.
Dave Thau, Brian Fisher
California Academy of Sciences
ANTWEB Goal
Accelerate the rate of
description and identification
ANTWEB End Users
Taxonomists: images of ant types and
other ant specimens held in the world’s
major ant collections
Public: identification tools, distribution,
and biology of ants
ANTWEB Design Goals
Efficient work flow: Automate as much as possible.
Blend with current habits: Leverage in-place
processes.
Support multiple sources of data: To achieve #1
and #2, necessary to deal with data in whatever form
it comes.
Maximize code life span: Stick with known
standards, use open source tools.
Work Flow – Adding Data
Project Files
Excel
Catalog Information
Spidered Hymenoptera
Name Server
Authority Files
Excel
Database
Microsoft Sql Server
Specimen Records
Biota
Web Application
Tomcat on Linux
Browser
Uploading Data
Work Flow – Adding Images
Images Created
In Automontage
SQL Server
Web Application
Tomcat on Linux
Browser
Uploading Data
Picking Favorite Images
Linux File System
ANTWEB Tools
Programming Language: Java Servlets and JSP
Database: Microsoft SQL Server (sans Microsoft xtras)
Design Pattern: Model-View-Controller using Struts
Image Processor: Image Magick
Bug Tracker: Bugzilla
Project Builder: Apache Ant
Recent Additions
Ant genera of the world
Ants of the Bay Area
Image Picker tool – choose best image for a taxon
Catalog Information – synonymy
Sticky search fields
Templates via Struts tiles
Future Directions
Distributed image sharing standards
GIS services
Distributed catalog information
Interactive keys
Descriptive data
More collaborative tools
Ultimately expanding beyond ants