Ocean Wise Conservation Association
As a Mitacs-Accelerate intern, I worked with the Howe Sound Research Group – from the Vancouver Aquarium and the Ocean Wise Conservation Association – to develop a Structure from Motion (SfM) workflow for in-situ modelling and monitoring of glass sponges in Howe Sound, BC.
THE PROJECT
The glass sponges off the Pacific Coast of British Columbia are the only known reef forming glass sponges in the world. Their remote location and limited accessibility makes monitoring these unique ecosystems an arduous task; however, recent discoveries of scuba accessible glass sponge bioherms within Howe Sound offer new possibilities.
The ability to accurately and precisely document changes to the 3D structure of these ecosystems is paramount to monitoring efforts and Structure from Motion (SfM) – which has proven effective in tropical waters – could play a critical role. This project systematically addressed the capacity of an SfM workflow to generate high quality 3D models from photographs and videos captured in cold, dark, and turbid marine environments.
A custom imaging platform – HEXYZ-1 – was designed to provide constant, uniform illumination at depth, as well as to ensure camera stability during data collection. The 3D data generated from this project demonstrate that SfM can be used in temperate waters to produce 3D models with millimeter-scale accuracy, providing an accessible, repeatable method for those monitoring glass sponges.
DELIVERABLES
Glass Sponge Monitoring Workflow
R&D for an innovative underwater SfM workflow
Glass Sponge / SfM Literature Review
Underwater Camera Rig Development
Data Quality Analyses
3D Visualizations
Interactive 3D visualization development
Glass Sponge Models
Virtual Reality
Augmented Reality
3D VISUALIZATIONS
Virtual Reality
An immersive virtual environment for analyzing 3D glass sponge point clouds, reviewing data processing reports, and assessing source images and videos.
Augmented Reality
An interactive point cloud visualization tool allowing users to inspect, query, and manipulate SfM-based glass sponge point clouds at scale.
DATA CAPTURE
DATA QUALITY BENCHMARKS
A series of SfM tests – performed using our custom imaging platform, HEXYZ-1 – provided a set of data quality benchmarks prior to field research.