The University of Maryland Baltimore County is awarded a grant to develop Ecosynth, an open-source 3D toolkit for scanning woodland ecosystems based on recent innovations in computer-vision technologies coupled with an online community system for browsing, sharing, visualizing, tagging and analyzing 3D scans of terrestrial ecosystems. Three dimensional (3D) scanning technologies are enabling fundamental advances in scientific understanding of ecosystem structure and function in woodlands (forests and shrublands) while providing new tools for rapid assessment of biodiversity and carbon storage across landscapes. Existing 3D scanning technologies are based on precision laser scanning systems, which remain prohibitively expensive and technically challenging to deploy, limiting their application to a relatively small number of field sites, investigators and time periods. This project aims to transform the practice of field ecology in woodlands by enabling the routine and frequent acquisition, use, and sharing of 3D scanning data by both ecologists and citizen scientists. This will enable remote sensing and advanced 3D analytics to become a "user-driven" rather than "expert-driven" technology. Ecosynth 3D scanning technology applies Structure from Motion algorithms to images acquired in the field using ordinary consumer-grade digital cameras, including camera-equipped cell phones, deployed in computer-optimized patterns on the ground or from the air by hobbyist remote controlled aircraft. The Ecosynth toolkit developed by this project will be offered as an open-source development resource on the community website (http://ecotope.org/projects/ecosynth/), and to potential users as a set of tools enabling the following capabilities: 1) computer assisted optimal image acquisition for 3D scanning (ground and aerial), 2) rapid generation of high-spatial resolution georeferenced 3D scans (multispectral point clouds), 3) an online browser-based system for sharing and visualizing 3D scans of terrestrial ecosystems that will enable expert and other users to identify, tag and make other spatially explicit markups of ecological objects in a 3D virtual environment. Development and extension of these capabilities will bring the cutting edge of ecological observations and informatics into the hands of those with the most field experience, potentially enabling the "crowd-sourcing" of landscape ecology.
Woodlands are currently targeted for carbon and biodiversity conservation by REDD+ and other international agreements and are therefore key areas for expanded scientific research and monitoring- Ecosynth tools will aid in these efforts. Enabling regular inexpensive use of 3D imaging tools by field ecologists and citizen scientists will expand forest observation capabilities to a much wider pool of observers, thereby assisting in global forest conservation efforts and even urban forestry. The project is built upon engaging students in interdisciplinary teams across multiple stages in their careers, from high school students (field testing), undergraduates (Ecology, Geography, Math, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Information Systems), graduate students (Geography & Environmental Systems, Computer Science & Engineering), and postdoctoral researchers. Work will also engage the public, guided by an advisory panel including both disciplinary experts (ecology, computer science) and conservation organizations with citizen science programs. Ultimately the Ecosynth project aims to spark the development of an open source 3D ecology community dedicated to developing, sharing and investigating the ecology of woodlands based on the results of 3D scanning using computer vision.
