Transcript Mauritius 3D - Bodo Schütze

SCIENCE ALIVE
Mauritius 3D
Graduation Project
Bodo Schütze, Computer Graphics (CG) Artist
University of Applied Sciences Breda (NHTV)
International Game Architecture and Design (IGAD)
University of Amsterdam (UvA)
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED)
Introduction
• Mauritius has lost most of its native forests due to human interference
over last 400 years
• Loss of natural habitat and overhunting led to extinction of endemic
animal species like the wingless Dodo bird and giant tortoises
• IBED has carried out extensive paleo-ecologic research on remote
oceanic islands, in particular for Mauritius
Location of Mauritius, 800km
east of Madagascar
• Statistical data available from microfossil analysis, showing ecosystem
dynamics from last glacial maximum (LGM) till recent times
• High demand for a modern visual reconstruction of pristine (pre-human)
ecosystems of Mauritius
• Goal is to raise public awareness on the importance and vulnerability of
island biodiversity and aspects of nature conservation in general
Deforestation of Mauritius after Cheke & Hume (2008)
Poster by Erik de Boer (2013)
Motivation
• Inspiring internship at Naturalis led to UvA (paper in progress)
• Growing personal interest in environment visualization
• Reconstruction of virtual landscapes based on scientific findings
• High level of detail and realism aspired and possible
• Opportunities for personal growth and knowledge building in
academic environment
• Nature conservation aspects add meaning to my work
Requirements and Goals
• Thorough research of original environments to understand
dynamics and achieve high level of realism in visualization
• Extensive study of plant morphology (architecture) to increase
likeness of digital models
• Aquisition and use of Digital Elevation Map (DEM) data to
resemble aspects of the original locations in Mauritius
• Production of a large number of plants with growth variations to
give the impression of a diverse system
Challenges
• Setting geographical focus for explorable area (size vs. resolution)
• High level of detail while maintaining reasonable computer
performance
• 12 different professional software packages required for
production of all aspects
Methods
Fieldwork - Overview
• 3 weeks of fieldwork in May 2012 to
gather essential data for creation of
realistic digital reconstructions
• Studied best preserved and
maintained nature reserves
• Identification of dominant native
plant species with local researchers
• List of 86 plant taxa accross
several vegetation layers
within 10 distinct biomes
Methods
Fieldwork – High Quality Image Acquisition
< Identification and capturing of
relevant plant species in their
environment in photo and video
< Gathering of physical plant samples
Mobile Photo Studio to take well -lit,
high resolution images of plant
samples for use in visualization
>
Methods
Fieldwork –Photo Archive
Archive of 4200 images
• Environment compositions
• Individual whole plants
• Plant parts / details
• Bark structures
• Ground surfaces
• Basalt / Rock structures
Methods
Procedural Texture Creation
• Procedural, node based texture creation using FilterForge
• Using RGB Math
• High level of control (if you know what you are doing)
Methods
Procedural Plant Modeling
• Define rules that describe the morphology
• Detail vs. computational cost in real-time environment
Methods
Terrain Generation
• DEM Data
• ESRI ArcGIS
• World Machine
• GeoControl
• Contour lines > Heightmap
Applications
• Alternative method for spatial palaeo-ecological reconstructions
• Educational, interactive installation in museums
• Avatar for commercial reforestation or coastal defense projects
• Powerful tool to create awareness for nature conservation and
restoration
Future Targets
• Visualize additional biomes (i.e. coast, palm savannah, dry and
wet forests)
• Implement animated (extinct) animals (i.e. birds, bats, tortoises)
• Allow player interaction with selected elements
• Improve visual quality and performance
FIN
Thank you for watching.
Any questions or ideas ?
[email protected]