Photogrammetry, Coral Reefs for Authentic Research and Education

 

Spent an amazing time in the Bahamas this past summer and met a marine biologist who is currently involved in the monitoring and support of the coral reefs in that area.  After a wonderful snorkeling adventure with her husband and great conversation, I learned about his and her involvement in the effort to monitor the coral in the Bahamas. I managed to have a great 'nerdy' conversation with her about her efforts and research and offered my limited expertise in photogrammetry and VR development. I offered my time and will create a simple VR experience to showcase the possibilities. I am currently testing 3DF Zephyr, AliceVision Meshroom, and Unreal's Reality Capture to determine best approaches to convert images into 3D. 

I am convinced that this type of authentic research and application of technology is something that students would love to explore and serve as a creative approach to encouraging more students into STEM. 

I currently feel that the FREE version of 3DFZephyr and the free/open-source Meshroom may be the best options for low or no-cost option for educators. There is also a free version of RC, but involves having an Unreal account to download and install. To avoid this, the earlier mentioned Zephyr and Meshroom may be the best options.  

Below is an image of a 3D model created using multiple underwater photos of actual coral reef. The Texture and mesh is extrapolated by using the high resolution images.