Sharing and visualizing environmental data using Virtual Globes

Virtual globe technology holds many exciting possibilities for environmental science. These easy-to-use, intuitive systems provide means for simultaneously visualizing four-dimensional environmental data from many different sources, enabling the generation of new hypotheses and driving greater understanding of the Earth system. Through the use of simple markup languages, scientists can publish and consume data in interoperable formats without the need for technical assistance. In this paper we give, with examples from our own work, a number of scientific uses for virtual globes, demonstrating their particular advantages. We explain how we have used Web Services to connect virtual globes with diverse data sources and enable more sophisticated usage such as data analysis and collaborative visualization. We also discuss the current limitations of the technology, with particular regard to the visualization of subsurface data and vertical sections.

Virtual Cilicia Project. How to use Google Earth as a visualization environment in an archaeological context

Over the past few years, archaeology has experienced a rapid development in geophysical prospection and remote sensing techniques. At the same time, the focus of archaeological research has shifted to landscape evelopment and human interaction. To impart the results, new methods and techniques are necessary. Virtual globes such as Google Earth offer fascinating methods of giving interested amateurs the possibility to interactively explore ancient cities and landscapes. Thanks to the increasing usage of GIS in cultural heritage, the implementation of interactive three dimensional learning opportunities becomes less and less tedious, but the non-linear narrative story telling medium demands for a special adaption of the content. This paper summarizes the experience gained during the realization of the “Virtual Cilicia Project” and outlines the future potential of virtual globes in the field of cultural heritage.

Nouveau support de visualisation spatio-temporelle pour faciliter l'exploration et le partage de données environnementales : SFMN GeoSearch : un outil pour la recherche en foresterie au Canada

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Extensión y uso de KML para la anotación, georreferenciación y distribución de recursos de tipo MIME

En el actual contexto de la Web 2.0 y de la futura Web Geográfica o simplemente GeoWeb la información georreferenciada cobra cada día más importancia. Desde hace años distintas técnicas han sido desarrolladas para dar solución al problema de la georreferenciación de recursos de distinta índole. Sin embargo ninguna de estas técnicas está exenta de problemas y restricciones. En este estudio presentamos una nueva aproximación que intenta facilitar la georreferenciación y distribución de recursos de tipos contemplados como Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). El elemento básico para la anotación, georreferenciación y también representación del recurso es el Keyhole Markup Language (KML). Este lenguaje permite la anotación y visualización de elementos, así como su extensión para aumentar su funcionalidad. Esta última propiedad se ha utilizado en nuestra aproximación para crear nuevos elementos que permitan la anotación de cualquier tipo de recurso MIME sobre KML obteniendo así la extensión KML MIMEXT. Esta extensión permite describir y georreferenciar tipos de recursos no habituales en el entorno SIG. La encapsulación del propio recurso junto con sus metadatos (incluyendo la georreferenciación) y otros recursos relacionados se realiza mediante la compresión de todos ellos en un único archivo KMZ facilitando así su distribución y mantenimiento. De forma similar a la interpretación de etiquetas HTML5 como video por los navegadores Web, el uso de la extensión MIMEXT podría ser implementado por visores basados en globos virtuales para visualizar o reproducir nuevos tipos de recursos. Para ejemplificar dicho comportamiento se ha implementado un prototipo de aplicación Java basado en el SDK World Wind Java

Software Tools For Large Scale Interactive Hydrodynamic Modeling

Running hydrodynamic models interactively allows both visual exploration and change of model state during simulation. One of the main characteristics of an interactive model is that it should provide immediate feedback to the user, for example respond to changes in model state or view settings. For this reason, such features are usually only available for models with a relatively small number of computational cells, which are used mainly for demonstration and educational purposes. It would be useful if interactive modeling would also work for models typically used in consultancy projects involving large scale simulations. This results in a number of technical challenges related to the combination of the model itself and the visualisation tools (scalability, implementation of an appropriate API for control and access to the internal state). While model parallelisation is increasingly addressed by the environmental modeling community, little effort has been spent on developing a high-performance interactive environment. What can we learn from other high-end visualisation domains such as 3D animation, gaming, virtual globes (Autodesk 3ds Max, Second Life, Google Earth) that also focus on efficient interaction with 3D environments? In these domains high efficiency is usually achieved by the use of computer graphics algorithms such as surface simplification depending on current view, distance to objects, and efficient caching of the aggregated representation of object meshes. We investigate how these algorithms can be re-used in the context of interactive hydrodynamic modeling without significant changes to the model code and allowing model operation on both multi-core CPU personal computers and high-performance computer clusters.

Exploring the effectiveness of virtual product placement on recall and recognition of new brands

This paper investigates the effectiveness of virtual product placement as a marketing tool by examining the relationship between brand recall and recognition and virtual product placement. It also aims to address a gap in the existing academic literature by focusing on the impact of product placement on recall and recognition of new brands. The growing importance of product placement is discussed and a review of previous research on product placement and virtual product placement is provided. The research methodology used to study the recall and recognition effects of virtual product placement are described and key findings presented. Finally, implications are discussed and recommendations for future research provided.