VIRTUAL REALITY IN OCEANOGRAPHY

Christopher W. Moore,NOAA/PMEL-JISAO/Univ. of Washington

Nancy N. Soreide, NOAA/PMEL

AOML Open House Maimi, FL - Jan 28th, 2002

New Machines to Visualize Data

Supported by NOAA/HPCC

Why Use 3-D?

Perspective

Relative Motion

Stereo

Perspective

High frequency spikes in the bathymetry data are obvious in the 3D plot (right) and are obscured in the 2D plot above.

Calculations of bathymetry gradients to identify regions of internal tide generation would be impacted by these spikes in the bathymetry data.

Bathymetry in Astoria Canyon offshore from the Columbia River outflow in Washington State, in 2D and 3D.

Data courtesy of Robert Kamphaus, NOAA Vents Program

Relative Motion (Interaction)

The ability to judge an object’s distance through the use of relative motion

Stereographic Virtual Reality

Courtesy of Al Hermann, NOAA/PMEL FOCI Project, under HPCC supported VRML project.

3D, interactive virtual reality visualizations are not difficult for a scientist to create or to view, from the web or from the desktop, and the effect can be enhanced dramatically by including the capability of stereographic viewing.

With a PC and a 99-cent pair of red/green sci-fi glasses, the spheres and vectors will pop out of the page in stereo, revealing the true 3D location of the fish, the steep slopes of the bathymetry, and the vertical motions near the submarine canyon.

The images can be rotated, animated and zoomed.

Fish larvae and velocity vectors in a submarine canyon, from a circulation model of Pribolof Canyon in the Bering Sea. Use red/green glasses to see images on the right in stereo.

Courtesy of Al Hermann, NOAA/PMEL FOCI Project, under HPCC supported VRML project.

Stereo

Stereo

Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)

VRML is a file format which allows users to access, navigate, explore environmental data in 3D on the Web

ISO Standard - like HTML standard ASCII text (utf8) - readable simple syntax - easy to create

FOR MORE INFO...

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vrml

ImmersaDesk: Collaborative Virtual Environment

A Next Generation Internet (NGI) Testbed

The ImmersaDesk:

• 4’ x 5’ rear projecting screen• near immersive

• 1024 x 768 x 96 Hz• driven by SGI Onyx2

• Two R12000 Processors• 250 MHz• Infinite Reality Graphics

How does it work?

Projector & Screen housed in travel case PC gives Wand and Visor location info to SGI SGI renders scene to projector

How does it work - cont’d...

PC-driven sensor gets position

PC sends position to SGI

SGI renders stereo image relative to position

Fisheries-Oceanography on the Immersadesk

Fisheries-Oceanography (FOCI) Sitka, AK

Dr. Al HermannSCRUM model

topography - bluesalinity isosurfacecurrents - whitetracers - red

Immersion works best

“Scientific visualization, exploiting the brain’s natural pattern recognition ability, is the best means available for making sense of large, complex scientific datasets.”

Animate

Hydrothermal Vents on the IDesk

Cave5d is Vis5d for the Cave/ImmersadeskDr. Bill Lavelle’s model output of a plume event

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab ImmersaDesk demo

GFDL - predictive model forhurricane Floyd

September 9-17th, 1999

135 mph winds

Tsunami on the IDesk

Hokkaido Tsunami Event:

July 12, 1993Mw = 7.8Okushiri - off Hokkaido~ 5 min “warning”

Dr. Vasily TitovTsunami Hazard Mitigation

Movie

Tools for Making I-Desk Demos

Vis5D/Cave5D Ferret Matlab

vGeo - VRCO IDL

VTK/Java (VRML)

ImmersaDesk Accomplishments:

Several immersive worlds created ...• PMEL: FOCI, Vents, Tsunami, TAO• GFDL: hurricane Floyd • UW/Oceanography Dept: Indonesian through flow• UW/JISAO : Turbulence Model

Meetings attended:• Supercomputing ’99, Nov 13-19, 1999• AGU 2000, Jan 24-28, 2000• PMEL Open House, March 16-17, 2000• Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Meeting, May 9-11, 2000

Conclusions

Virtual Reality helps the scientist and the lay person understand complex datasets and relationships

Web based Virtual Reality is widely accessible Virtual Reality can be viewed in Stereo

Web based Virtual Reality can be shared Including interactions between multiple users across networks People sharing virtual worlds can see, talk, and interact with one another

Faster network speeds available with the Next Generation Internet will facilitate sharing these Virtual Reality experiences

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vrml Supported by NOAA/HPCC