V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience

Simon J.  Buckley; John Howell; Nicole Naumann; Conor Lewis; Magda Chmielewska; Kari Ringdal; Joris Vanbiervliet; Bowei Tong; Oliver S. Mulelid-Tynes; Dylan Foster; Gail Maxwell; Jessica Pugsley

doi:10.5194/gc-2021-30

V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience

Simon J. Buckley^* (Corresponding Author), John Howell, Nicole Naumann, Conor Lewis, Magda Chmielewska, Kari Ringdal, Joris Vanbiervliet, Bowei Tong, Oliver S. Mulelid-Tynes, Dylan Foster, Gail Maxwell, Jessica Pugsley

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geology and Geophysics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

V3Geo is a cloud-based repository for publishing virtual 3D models in geoscience. The system allows storage, search and visualisation of models typically acquired using techniques such as photogrammetry and laser scanning. The platform has been developed to handle models at the range of scales typically used by geoscientists, from microscopic, hand samples and fossils through to outcrop sections covering metres to tens of kilometres. The cloud storage system serves the models to a purpose-built 3D web viewer. Models are tiled to ensure efficient streaming over the internet. The web viewer allows 3D models to be interactively explored without the need for specialist software to be installed. A measurement tool enables users to measure simple dimensions, such as widths, thicknesses, fault throws and more. V3Geo allows very large models comprising multiple sections and is designed to include additional interpretation layers. The specific focus on geoscience data is supported by defined metadata and a classification schema. Public and private storage are available, and public models are assigned Creative Commons licenses to govern content usage. This paper presents V3Geo as a sustainable resource for the geoscience community, including the motivation, main characteristics, and features. Example usage scenarios are highlighted: from undergraduate geology teaching, supporting virtual geoscience education, and preparing virtual field trips based on V3Geo models. Finally, best practise guidelines for preparing 3D model contributions for publication on V3Geo are included as an Appendix.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	67-82
Number of pages	16
Journal	Geoscience Communication
Volume	5
Issue number	1
Early online date	9 Mar 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-2021-30 https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-67-2022
Publication status	Published - 9 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments: The authors extend their thanks to the SAFARI consortium (https://safaridb.com, last access: 7 March 2022) for continued support and encouragement in developing the idea of a public outcrop and 3D model repository for the geoscience community. V3Geo is the culmination of several years of idea maturation and development. During this time, it has been discussed with and has received feedback from many members of the geoscience community, including the communities active around the Virtual Geoscience Conference series (https://vgc-series.org, last access: 7 March 2022) and workshops on digital geoscience initiatives convened in Pau (November 2018) and Amsterdam (January 2020), which helped provide inspiration and community support for the V3Geo initiative. Finally, we thank the groups from around the world who have been engaged with V3Geo by contributing models and providing feedback and support as well as examples of their own usage scenarios. Tobias Schmiedel and Fabio Crameri are thanked for their constructive reviews of the submitted manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

Data availability: Virtual 3D models presented in this paper are
available on V3Geo (https://v3geo.com, last access: 7 March 2022;
V3Geo, 2022).

Access to Document

10.5194/gc-2021-30Licence: CC BY
10.5194/gc-5-67-2022Licence: CC BY

Buckley_etal_GC_V3Geo_A_Cloud_VoR
This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 7.36 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience",

abstract = "V3Geo is a cloud-based repository for publishing virtual 3D models in geoscience. The system allows storage, search and visualisation of models typically acquired using techniques such as photogrammetry and laser scanning. The platform has been developed to handle models at the range of scales typically used by geoscientists, from microscopic, hand samples and fossils through to outcrop sections covering metres to tens of kilometres. The cloud storage system serves the models to a purpose-built 3D web viewer. Models are tiled to ensure efficient streaming over the internet. The web viewer allows 3D models to be interactively explored without the need for specialist software to be installed. A measurement tool enables users to measure simple dimensions, such as widths, thicknesses, fault throws and more. V3Geo allows very large models comprising multiple sections and is designed to include additional interpretation layers. The specific focus on geoscience data is supported by defined metadata and a classification schema. Public and private storage are available, and public models are assigned Creative Commons licenses to govern content usage. This paper presents V3Geo as a sustainable resource for the geoscience community, including the motivation, main characteristics, and features. Example usage scenarios are highlighted: from undergraduate geology teaching, supporting virtual geoscience education, and preparing virtual field trips based on V3Geo models. Finally, best practise guidelines for preparing 3D model contributions for publication on V3Geo are included as an Appendix. ",

author = "Buckley, {Simon J.} and John Howell and Nicole Naumann and Conor Lewis and Magda Chmielewska and Kari Ringdal and Joris Vanbiervliet and Bowei Tong and Mulelid-Tynes, {Oliver S.} and Dylan Foster and Gail Maxwell and Jessica Pugsley",

note = "Acknowledgments: The authors extend their thanks to the SAFARI consortium (https://safaridb.com, last access: 7 March 2022) for continued support and encouragement in developing the idea of a public outcrop and 3D model repository for the geoscience community. V3Geo is the culmination of several years of idea maturation and development. During this time, it has been discussed with and has received feedback from many members of the geoscience community, including the communities active around the Virtual Geoscience Conference series (https://vgc-series.org, last access: 7 March 2022) and workshops on digital geoscience initiatives convened in Pau (November 2018) and Amsterdam (January 2020), which helped provide inspiration and community support for the V3Geo initiative. Finally, we thank the groups from around the world who have been engaged with V3Geo by contributing models and providing feedback and support as well as examples of their own usage scenarios. Tobias Schmiedel and Fabio Crameri are thanked for their constructive reviews of the submitted manuscript.",

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AU - Chmielewska, Magda

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AU - Mulelid-Tynes, Oliver S.

AU - Foster, Dylan

AU - Maxwell, Gail

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AB - V3Geo is a cloud-based repository for publishing virtual 3D models in geoscience. The system allows storage, search and visualisation of models typically acquired using techniques such as photogrammetry and laser scanning. The platform has been developed to handle models at the range of scales typically used by geoscientists, from microscopic, hand samples and fossils through to outcrop sections covering metres to tens of kilometres. The cloud storage system serves the models to a purpose-built 3D web viewer. Models are tiled to ensure efficient streaming over the internet. The web viewer allows 3D models to be interactively explored without the need for specialist software to be installed. A measurement tool enables users to measure simple dimensions, such as widths, thicknesses, fault throws and more. V3Geo allows very large models comprising multiple sections and is designed to include additional interpretation layers. The specific focus on geoscience data is supported by defined metadata and a classification schema. Public and private storage are available, and public models are assigned Creative Commons licenses to govern content usage. This paper presents V3Geo as a sustainable resource for the geoscience community, including the motivation, main characteristics, and features. Example usage scenarios are highlighted: from undergraduate geology teaching, supporting virtual geoscience education, and preparing virtual field trips based on V3Geo models. Finally, best practise guidelines for preparing 3D model contributions for publication on V3Geo are included as an Appendix.

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DO - 10.5194/gc-2021-30

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SN - 2569-7102

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JO - Geoscience Communication

JF - Geoscience Communication

IS - 1

ER -

V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Access to Document

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