{"id":120766,"date":"2020-06-15T15:12:26","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T01:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=120766"},"modified":"2020-06-18T12:40:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T22:40:50","slug":"virtual-reality-coral-reef-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/06\/15\/virtual-reality-coral-reef-app\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> Hilo, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa team wins national award for coral reef virtual reality app"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_88171\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-wdfV6RiDDM?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"PEARC20 Visualization Theater Trailer\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>A team of undergraduate students from the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo <a href=\"http:\/\/cse.uhh.hawaii.edu\/\">Department of Computer Science<\/a> and <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eng.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Engineering<\/a> were awarded Best Visualization Showcase Award and will be recognized at the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/pearc.acm.org\/pearc20\/\">Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing 2020 Conference<\/a> (<abbr>PEARC20<\/abbr>). The team\u2019s project integrated three-dimensional models of Hawaiian coral reefs into an immersive virtual reality platform.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the coronavirus, <abbr>PEARC20<\/abbr> will be held online on July 26&#8211;30 and will explore the current concepts of advanced research computing including modeling, simulation and data-intensive computing.<\/p>\n<p>The <abbr>UH<\/abbr> project, &ldquo;Exploration of Coral Reefs in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> through Virtual Reality: Hawaiian Coral Reef Museum <abbr title=\"Virtual Reality\">VR<\/abbr>,&rdquo; showcases models that were generated from high-resolution surveys at long-term monitoring sites throughout the Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea Marine National Monument. Thousands of images of coral reef habitats were collected by <strong>John H.R. Burns<\/strong>, a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo assistant professor of marine science, and his research team during ship-based research expeditions led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.<\/p>\n<p>The images were processed by the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themegalab.org\/\">Multiscale Environmental Graphical Analysis<\/a> (<abbr>MEGA<\/abbr>) Lab&#8212;a lab Burns developed&#8212;using structure-from-motion photogrammetry technology to create high-resolution 3D reconstructions of each coral reef study plot.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The <abbr>VR<\/abbr> application is an incredible way to engage broad audiences and provide them with a unique immersive experience to see coral reefs first hand and witness changes occurring in these valuable ecosystems,&rdquo; said Burns.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Francis Cristobal<\/strong>, a faculty specialist in the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo computer science department, spearheaded the two-year project.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;One of the primary objectives was to create virtual outreach products to showcase these incredible and unique products to public audiences around the globe,&rdquo; Cristobal said. &ldquo;When the application starts, the user is brought into a Coral Reef Museum filled with a curated selection of coral reefs. The user then picks a reef to explore and is transported to a life-sized 3D model of it. From there, the user can resize, reposition or fly through a 3D model, offering a wide range of interactivity. This human-centered design is particularly an effective platform for researchers, instructors and the general public.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>These reconstructions also allow researchers to examine how the coral reefs change over time and respond to stressors associated with climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Team members:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>John H.R. Burns<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Marine Science and <abbr>MEGA<\/abbr><\/li>\n<li><strong>Francis Cristobal<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Computer Science<\/li>\n<li><strong>Michael Dodge <abbr title=\"Roman Numeral Two\">II<\/abbr><\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, Pre-Engineering<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alec Goodson<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Computer Science (graduated spring 2020)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drew Gotshalk<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Computer Science (graduated spring 2020)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jared McLean<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> CyberInfrastructure<\/li>\n<li><strong>Briana Noll<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Computer Science (graduated spring 2020)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kailey Pascoe<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo <abbr>MEGA<\/abbr> lab<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nickolas Rosenberg<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Computer Science (graduated spring 2020)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alexandra Runyan<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Marine Science<\/li>\n<li><strong>Joseph Sanchez<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Edwin Mookini Library<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ryan Theriot<\/strong>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Application<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&ldquo;This was an exciting project to work on,&rdquo; said <strong>Michael Dodge<\/strong>, a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumnus and pre-engineering student at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. &ldquo;I learned a lot about what goes into <abbr>VR<\/abbr> application development, and doing this as a real-world program for the public made it every bit more interesting.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The project was funded by the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Academy for Creative Media System. The virtual museum will be showcased at the Mokup\u0101papa Discovery Center in Hilo and will be a traveling exhibit. It will also be presented at the <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/chancellor\/stories\/2020\/06\/10\/hawaiian-coral-reef-virtual-reality-app\/\">For more go to <em><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Susan Enright<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_120765\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120765\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/system-virtual-reef-app-2.jpg\" alt=\"virtual reef museum display\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-120765\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/system-virtual-reef-app-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/system-virtual-reef-app-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/system-virtual-reef-app-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120765\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The app is made from thousands of images of coral reef habitats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3D reconstructions highlight how coral reefs change over time and respond to stressors associated with climate change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[112,541,831,1363,262,660,14,907,9,56],"class_list":["post-120766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-academy-for-creative-media","tag-computer-science","tag-laboratory-for-advanced-visualization-and-applications","tag-manoa-research","tag-marine-science","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120766"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121034,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120766\/revisions\/121034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}