Highly detailed 3D reconstructions from satellite and ground-based sensor data enable geologists to analyze the geological properties of distant celestial objects such as Mars. Geological interpretations are an important part of this, providing answers to questions such as the history of planets, the probability of earlier water deposits or possible locations for bio-signatures. For this purpose, we provide interactive tools that allow comprehensive exploration as well as various measurements and annotations on high-resolution 3D models down to the smallest detail.
Developed to support NASA and ESA missions, PRo3D ("Planetary Robotics 3D Viewer") allows easy navigation through high-resolution 3D reconstructions of planetary surfaces from orbiter and Mars Rover camera images with the ability to document and analyze geological structures on digital surface models.
For the construction of tunnels, it is essential to analyse exactly what the rock in which you are going to drill is made of and what its special properties are. This is a question of safety as well as of estimating costs and time. Digital systems which allow the annotation of high-precision 3D reconstructions of the working face are the ideal complement to on-site analysis.
The Geotunnel Viewer, developed in collaboration with our industrial partner Geodata, integrates information from sensor data with 3D scenes. The viewer creates a combined, user-friendly presentation of the respective geological conditions and also allows efficient comparisons. As special features, the interactive monitoring tool offers data-driven navigation and a virtual reality mode.
Minerals from the spinel group provide useful information about the geological environment in which the rocks were formed and therefore play an important role in the search for economically interesting mineral deposits. In cooperation with partners from Argentina, we were able to significantly improve the analysis and classification process of spinels: our solution requires only a few minutes to analyze minerals. It combines well-known principles of interactive visual analysis (e.g. coordinated multiple views) and diagrams that are usually used for analyzing minerals of the spinel group. A web-based solution is being developed by our partners in Argentina.
Our research work with spinel minerals and the technologies we use for a holistic interactive visual analysis have already been presented at renowned conferences and as scientific papers. Most recently: M. L. Ganuza, G. Ferracutti, F. Gargiulo, S. M. Castro, E. A. Bjerg, E. Gröller, K. Matković (2017): Interactive Visual Categorization of Spinel-Group Minerals; SCCG '17: Proceedings of the 33rd Spring Conference on Computer Graphics
Automatic creation of visualization models in VR through interface from GIS to XR enables faster mission planning.
PanCam-3D focuses on the further development of interactive 3D visualizations for the ExoMars 2022 mission.
WIBSTAC addresses the usage of wide baseline stereo 3D reconstruction for medium- and long-range mapping of the Martian surface, based on imagery from panoramic rover camera instruments.
The "Mars-DL" project is investigating how a deep learning system can support the research work of planetary scientists through object and pattern recognition. For this project VRVis has extended the functionality of PRo3D to automatically render shatter cone training images.
Support for planetary research: Visual analysis of reconstructions of the Mars surface and view planning for rover camera instruments.
Visual Analysis of Asteroid Deflection.
Virtual exploration and geological analysis of reconstructed Mars surfaces and rock outcrops.
MINERVA is an integrated framework for planetary scientists allowing members of different instrument teams to cooperate synergistically in virtual workspaces by sharing observations, analyses and annotations of heterogonous mission data.
A visual tool for a combined stratigraphic and temporal documentation and interpretation of excavation projects.
Strategic Research in Scalable, Semantic Rendering.
Planetary Robotics Vision Data Exploitation.
Seamless visual analysis of data involving 3D geometry, relational information and multivariate attributes.