3-D Digital Dinosaur Track Download: A Roadmap for Saving at-Risk
Natural History ResourcesScience Daily, Feb 12, 2011) — Portable laser scanning technology allows researchers to tote their latest fossil discovery from the field to the lab in the form of lightweight digital data stored on a laptop. But sharing that data as a 3D model with others requires standard formats that are currently lacking, say paleontologists at Southern Methodist University.
Portable 3D laser technology preserves Texas dinosaur's rare footprint.
(Credit: Image courtesy of Southern Methodist University)
The SMU researchers used portable laser scanning technology to capture field data of a huge 110 million-year-old Texas dinosaur track and then create to scale an exact 3D facsimile. They share their protocol and findings with the public -- as well as their downloadable 145-megabyte model -- in the online scientific journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
The model duplicates an actual dinosaur footprint fossil that is slowly being destroyed by weathering because it's on permanent outdoor display, says SMU paleontologist Thomas L. Adams, lead author of the scientific article. The researchers describe in the paper how they created the digital model and discuss the implications for digital archiving and preservation. Click here for the download link.
"This paper demonstrates the feasibility of using portable 3D laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive 3D models of at-risk natural history resources," write the authors.
"3D digitizing technology provides a high-fidelity, low-cost means of producing facsimiles that can be used in a variety of ways," they say, adding that the data can be stored in online museums for distribution to researchers, educators and the public.
SMU paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs is one of the coauthors on the article.
"The protocol for distance scanning presented in this paper is a roadmap for establishing a virtual museum of fossil specimens from inaccessible corners across the globe," Jacobs said.
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HIGH RESOLUTION THREE-DIMENSIONAL LASER-SCANNING OF THE TYPE SPECIMEN OFEUBRONTES (?) GLENROSENSIS SHULER, 1935, FROM THE COMANCHEAN (LOWER CRETACEOUS) OF TEXAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DIGITAL ARCHIVING AND PRESERVATION
Thomas L. Adams, Christopher Strganac, Michael J. Polcyn, and Louis L. Jacobs
ABSTRACT
The lower member of the Glen Rose Formation (Albian, Lower Cretaceous) in what is now Dinosaur Valley State Park preserves dinosaur trackways of theropods and sauropods. An excavated theropod track was built into the wall of the bandstand at the Somervell County Courthouse by the citizens of Glen Rose, Texas, in 1933 and later designated as the type specimen of the ichnospecies Eubrontes (?) glenrosensis. To this day, this unique paleontological and cultural resource attracts visitors. Over the past 74 years, exposure to the elements has caused erosional loss, altering the shape of the track impression, but to an unknown degree. In order to preserve the current state of the type specimen and provide a baseline for future analyses, 3D laser scanning was employed to perform in situ digitization of the track. The scans were post-processed to generate a high-resolution 3D digital model of the track. The model was rendered in various media formats for viewing, publication, and archival purposes. Raw scan data and industry-standard 3D object files formats are available for download. Portable 3D laser scanners capture original fossil morphology and texture, thus providing a low cost, high fidelity alternative to traditional molding and casting. The results demonstrate the advantages of using portable laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive models that can be digitally archived and made accessible via the worldwide web for research and education.
Thomas L. Adams. Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395 U.S.A.
Christopher Strganac. Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395 U.S.A.
Michael J. Polcyn. Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395 U.S.A.
Louis L. Jacobs. Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395 U.S.A.
KEY WORDS: 3D laser scanning, Eubrontes, digital archive, Lower Cretaceous, dinosaur track
PE Article Number: 13.3.1T
Copyright: Palaeontological Association November 2010
Submission: 16 November 2009. Acceptance: 14 September 2010
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