Next Generation Geoscience Visualization Systems

Geoinformatics 2006 5/8/2006 1

Next Generation Geoscience Visualization Systems

Brian Davis

USGS Center for Earth Resources and Observation Science

2006 Geoinformatics Conference

May 12, 2006 – USGS National Center, Reston, VA

Cyberinfrastructure and Visualization


Overview

• (Ancient) History• GeoWall• GeoWall2

• PG2• Software• Science• Future


History (Ancient)1990 High-Performance Computing & Communications

1995 MAGIC – DARPA sponsored Gigabit Networking Testbed

using interactive visualization application

2000 USGS Prospectus-funded Beowulf Cluster Research Project

was the Catalyst

2001 Initial GeoWall Meeting

2002 GeoWall Consortium formulation; serial #3 at UGSS/EROS

2003 Invited to participate in NSF OptIPuter grant

2004 Commercial software catching up with GeoWall technology

2005 More focus on OptIPuter, less on GeoWall Consortium

2006 Deployment to Geoscientists


History (Recent)

• We are descendents of CAVEs (Virtual Reality) - Very expensive

• Dual-output (Stereo) graphics cards for PC Motherboards - Inexpensive

• CAVElib port to linux• GeoWall Consortium Formulation• Hardware < $10K• Windows and OS X apps• Commercial GIS Software


Number of GeoWalls – 12/03

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mber

of

Wall

s

TotalOtherGeo-related

2-10 new systems a week(*Cost of a modest system)

$15,000*

$6,000*


GeoWall


GeoWall Desktop Stereo Display Devices• Planar


Low-End GeoWall

• Topography without contours• No crashing• Inexpensive• Will work next year• Can be used in the field

Stereo Printed Maps


Analog GeoWall


Status

• Affordable 3D stereo visualization• Research collaborations initiated• Over 500 by Dec. 2005, current est. = ?• 10% of all U.S. Geology undergraduates• Over 15 museums• 20 papers and presentations at 2003 AGU• One half-day Session at 2004 AGU• Integrating into Geology curriculums in 2005

(MN, NAU)• 2006: Deployment outside academia


GeoWall2

• GeoWall2 (PerspecTile)• Cluster-based tiled display -- large screen

real estate

• OptIPuter• 64-bit visualization software• Designed for high-bandwidth

interactive visualization


GeoWall2 - USGS Prospectus-funded Beowulf Clustering Research Project


GeoWall2


GeoWall2

1991 SGI benchmarking, Parallel Programming at Argonne, SC ‘911992 TMC C* Class, Surface Hydrology Modeling: CUG and SC ‘921993 MSC/AHPCRC CM-5 training1994 Prototype Landsat-7 Terrain Correction1995 MAGIC, Landcover classification1990 High-Performance Computing & Communications2000 USGS Prospectus-funded Beowulf Cluster Project – Catalyst


GeoWall2

1990 High-Performance Computing & Communications1991 SGI benchmarking, Parallel Programming at Argonne, SC ‘911992 TMC C* Class, Drainage on a Cray: CUG and SC ‘921993 MSC/AHPCRC CM-5 training1994 Prototype Landsat-7 Terrain Correction1995 MAGIC, landcover classifiation2000 USGS Beowulf Clustering Prospectus2001 GeoWall Consortium2003 GeoWall2: cluster-based tiled display2004 OptIPuter, xindi


OptIPuter


OptIPuter

• NSF-funded High-Speed Networking Research grant

• PI: Larry Smarr, UCSD• Co-PI: Jason Leigh, U of IL –

Chicago (Visualization)• Interactive, collaborative

visualizations over the National LambdaRail


GeoWall2


“Varrier”


PG2:Personal GeoWall-2


PG2


Software

• Commercial software vendors are catching up with GeoWall Hardware deployment

• We are just at the beginning of that curve again with GeoWall2 software


Science

• Tools for Geo-Scientists must be usable within their existing domains

• Technology must continue be• Commodity parts• Low cost• Hardened• Compatible with commercial software


Future

• Networks are becoming faster• Data sets are becoming larger and more

complex• Visualization will have to be remote,

interactive, collaborative, ….


Lessons Learned2003 Rampage Fire: LANDFIRE Fuel Models,

FARSITE Simulated Fire Spread and DNBR Fire Perimeter

N

US Highway 2US Highway 2LakeLake

McDonald McDonald

Hungry Horse Reservoir Hungry Horse Reservoir

Roads

Timber (Litter and understory)

Closed timber litter (Lodgepole pine and aspen stands)

Short brush dominated

Short grasses

Alpine / barren

Water

Ag / urban

USGS: usgs.gov

EROS: edc.usgs.gov

LANDFIRE: www.landfire.gov

Fire Sciences Lab: www.firelab.org

GeoWall GeoWall.org

DNBR (Difference Normalized Burn Ratio)

FARSITE prediction


ArcGIS 9.0 ArcScene

• 2003 Rampage Fire simulation/prediction


Contacts

[email protected]

http://GeoWall.org

http://optiputer.net


Bibliography

Research is supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (ANI-0225642, EAR-0219246, and EAR-0218918)

Steinwand, D., Davis, B., Weeks, N., 2003, “GeoWall: Investigations into Low-Cost Stereo Display Technologies”, USGS Open File Report 03-198

Leigh, J., Morin, P., Johnson, A., DeFanti, T., Brown, M., Sandin, D., Rack, F., Vernon, F., Orcutt, J., Davis, B., van Keken, P., Smarr, L., 2003, “GeoWall-2: a Scalable Display System for the GeoSciences”, Fall 2003 American Geophysical Union Conference, San Francisco, CA, December 8-12, 2003

Leigh, J., Renambot, L., Johnson, A., Brown, M., Sandin, J., DeFanti, T., Ellisman, M., Orcutt, J., Smarr, L., Davis, B., Morin, P., Ito, E., Rack, F., 2004, “Challenges in Ultra-High-Resolution Visualization and Collaboration”, 2004, High Information Content Display Systems Symposium, Arlington, VA, September 13-14, 2004,

Krishnaprasad, N., Vishwanath, V., Venkataraman, S., Rao, A., Renambot, L., Leigh, J., Johnson, A., Davis, B., 2004, “JuxtaView – A Tool for Interactive Visualization of Large Imagery on Scalable Tiled Displays”, Cluster Computing 2004, San Diego, CA, Sep. 20-23, 2004


Background• USGS Prospectus-funded Research Project

had tiny visualization component• Momentum from development of GeoWall

Consortium• Geo – Geology (Geography… Geometry… Geo…)• Wall – One wall of a cave – descendent of CAVElib• 3-D Viz on the cheap

• GeoWall Consortium - formulation without funding

• Jason Leigh University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC), Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) – Cave Technology

• Peter van Keken, University of Michigan - Geology• Paul Morin, U of Minnesota – Geology Visualization,

Wall Evangelist• Brian Davis, EROS – Data Pimp


Next Generation Geoscience Visualization Systems

Brian Davis

USGS Center for Earth Resources and Observation Science

2006 Geoinformatics Conference

May 12, 2006 – USGS National Center, Reston, VA

Cyberinfrastructure and Visualization


State of the Wall

• Past• Present• Future


Deployment

• Commercial GIS Software• ESRI ArcGIS• MDL Chime• DGI EarthVision• MMK Roma• IVS Fledermaus• VRCO VGEO• AGI Satellite Tool Kit

• Additional Display Options• Immersadesk4• Planar


Future

• Commercial GIS SoftwareESRI ArcGIS, MDL Chime, DGI EarthVision, MMK

Roma, IVS Fledermaus, VRCO VGEO, AGI Satellite Tool Kit

• GeoWall2

• PG2 – Personal GeoWall2

• Stereo• Science Museum of Minnesota – St.

Paul


Future



• GeoWall2


• Stereo• Science Museum of Minnesota – St.

Paul• Printed Maps


Future



• GeoWall2


• Stereo• Science Museum of Minnesota – St. Paul• Printed maps• Passive Stereo LCDs – Interlaced pixels for

an audience of one – no glasses• Stereo Photographs


Demonstration: Wall Evolution• Earthquake Epicenters• Landsat Stereo Pairs• ESRI ArcScene 4-D Animation• Stereo Photography• High-resolution aerial photography and

LIDAR elevations


Bibliography

Research is supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (ANI-0225642, EAR-0219246, and EAR-0218918)

Steinwand, D., Davis, B., Weeks, N., 2003, “GeoWall: Investigations into Low-Cost Stereo Display Technologies”, USGS Open File Report 03-198

Leigh, J., Morin, P., Johnson, A., DeFanti, T., Brown, M., Sandin, D., Rack, F., Vernon, F., Orcutt, J., Davis, B., van Keken, P., Smarr, L., 2003, “GeoWall-2: a Scalable Display System for the GeoSciences”, Fall 2003 American Geophysical Union Conference, San Francisco, CA, December 8-12, 2003

Davis, B., 2004, “Virtual Reality Meets GIS: 3D on the Wall”, ArcNews, Summer 2004, Vol. 26 No.2

Davis, B., 2004, “Affordable Systems for Viewing Spatial Data in Stereo”, ArcUSer, July-September 2004

Davis, B., Morin, P., Ramstad, M., 2004, “Three-Dimensional Anaglyph of the Earth, ESRI Map Book Volume Nineteen, 2004

Leigh, J., Renambot, L., Johnson, A., Brown, M., Sandin, J., DeFanti, T., Ellisman, M., Orcutt, J., Smarr, L., Davis, B., Morin, P., Ito, E., Rack, F., 2004, “Challenges in Ultra-High-Resolution Visualization and Collaboration”, 2004, High Information Content Display Systems Symposium, Arlington, VA, September 13-14, 2004,

Krishnaprasad, N., Vishwanath, V., Venkataraman, S., Rao, A., Renambot, L., Leigh, J., Johnson, A., Davis, B., 2004, “JuxtaView – A Tool for Interactive Visualization of Large Imagery on Scalable Tiled Displays”, Cluster Computing 2004, San Diego, CA, Sep. 20-23, 2004


Contacts

http://GeoWall.orghttp://[email protected]


References

http://edc.usgs.govhttp://GeoWall.orghttp://www.evl.uic.edu/cavern/optiputer/


GeoWall IndexApproximate number of GeoWalls: 250

Number outside the US: ~30

Percentage in the classroom: ~75%

Percentage of non-major earth science students that see a GeoWall in the US: 15-25%

Average cost of one “CAVE”: $1.5 million

Cost of the GeoWalls currently in educational service: $1.5 million

Most popular material: USGS’s Stereo LANDSAT Imagery

Data transferred from GeoWall.org: 279 Gigabytes

Busiest day on GeoWall.org: 300,000 hits in 8 hours on September 1, 2002 (Slashdot.org article)

Publications beginning to appear

(With respect to Harper’s Index, as of 12/03)


Road Shows• National Park Service Regional HQ, Omaha• SDSM&T• Sinte Gleska University• Missouri River Institute, USD• Grand Canyon National Park• Russell Senate Office Building• 03 SD Technology Summit• Space Days, Washington Pavilion• MIB (Main Interior Building), Washington, D.C.• USGS Headquarters (x2)• ESRI User Conference, San Diego, CA• GIS Day, EPA HQ• 04 DSU CECIS Symposium• EDC Auditorium


Notable Audiences• Under-Secretaries of

DOI• SD Sen. Tom Daschle• NASA deputy director• SD Governor Mike

Rounds• CBS News• Federal Agency and

Academic Collaborators

• Various USGS HQ staff• BOR• Jamie Rounds, SD 2010

Initiative• FEMA Regional

Director• Students• Teachers• USGS Directors

• Ukrainian Land and Resource Management Center

• National Wetlands Inventory Coordinator

• National Volcano Hazards Program Coordinator

• Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

• Canadian Center for Remote Sensing

• Naval Oceanographic Office

• Chinese Bureau of Mapping

• NIMA• State-wide Lewis&Clark

Meeting• SD Geography Bee


Development Direction Thus FarHardware development• Now stable and spun off to 4 companies

Software development• “Seed” applications freely distributed• Encourage the support of GeoWall software by key

vendors:ESRI ArcGIS, MDL Chime, DGI EarthVision, MMK Roma, IVS

Fledermaus, VRCO VGEO, AGI Satellite Tool Kit

Establishment of GeoWall community• 4th Annual GeoWall Meeting Spring – May 2004• Special interest groups being established• Museum community underway


GeoWall Museum Network

Alaska: The Imaginarium, Anchorage.Illinois:SciTech Hands on Museum, Aurora; Discovery

Center, Rockford; Lake County Discovery Museum, Wauconda; Lakeview Museum, Peoria.

Indiana: Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Evansville; Science Central, Fort Wayne; Children’s Science and Technology Museum, Terre Haute.

Iowa: Bluedorn Science Imaginarium, Waterloo.Texas: Don Harrington Discovery Center, Amarillo

Other Museums:

Chicago Museum of Science and IndustryAdler Planetarium, ChicagoScience Museum of MinnesotaLowell ObservatoryTexas Memorial Museum - UT Austin


Final Points• GeoWall is now going beyond earth

sciences• Price can’t get much lower• Basic technology is ready• Vendors are supporting the

community• Critical mass is being reached in the

academic geosciences• Assessment is just beginning• Timing for feedback is excellent• Opportunities for collaborative

research


Descendants of CAVEs


Cost of a Modest System

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

$16,000

June '01 June '02 June '03 Dec. '03

Next Generation Geoscience Visualization Systems

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