15 December 2010

Fine Fellow Chris Linder speaks at #AGU10


Today at  11:20am PST, Chris Linder will give a talk in the Imperative of Climate Literacy II session - Moscone South room 102 at the 2010 meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Multimedia storytelling

Chris Linder, Max Wilbert, R. Max Holmes

Multimedia video presentations, which integrate still photographs with video clips, audio interviews, ambient sounds, and music, are an effective and engaging way to tell science stories.  In July 2009, Linder joined professors and undergraduates on an expedition to the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia. This IPY science project, called The Polaris Project (http://www.thepolarisproject.org), is an undergraduate research experience where students and faculty work together to increase our understanding of climate change impacts, including thawing permafrost, in this remote corner of the world.  During the summer field season, Linder conducted dozens of interviews, captured over 20,000 still photographs and hours of ambient audio and video clips.  Following the 2009 expedition, Linder blended this massive archive of visual and audio information into a 10-minute overview video and five student vignettes.  In 2010, Linder again traveled to Siberia as part of the Polaris Project, this time mentoring an environmental journalism student who will lead the production of a video about the 2010 field season.  Using examples from the Polaris productions, we will present tips, tools, and techniques for creating compelling multimedia science stories.

03 December 2010

Preserving Endangered Languages with GigaPan



CREATE Lab's Laura Tomokiyo recently returned from the Elders and Youth Conference in Barrow, Alaska, where she utilized GigaPan to help document Inupiak culture and language.

View several GigaPans taken during the Elders and Youth Conference

"I've been working with the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska to do language and cultural documentation using GigaPan. GigaPan allows us to capture images of broad scenes - places and practices of cultural importance - and talk about fine detail in context. By introducing GigaPan as a tool for documenting endangered languages, we hope to capture linguistic events that are not easily elicited using conventional techniques while at the same time recording valuable cultural and environmental information and providing a tangible resource - the photographic archive - to the community. The larger objective is to develop standards for using GigaPan as a language documentation tool, so that the many endangered language communities that do have the necessary resources - technological infrastructure and language advocacy - are empowered to undertake their own documentation projects.

Preservation and perpetuation of the Inupiaq language is of critical importance to the community. Elders are most comfortable speaking Inupiaq. Their children - today's community leaders - are bilingual, but at a great price - they were punished for speaking their own language and sent away to schools in other parts of the country. As a result, English dominates among youth. Providing opportunities for youth to engage authentically in Inupiaq conversation is imperative for the survival of the language.

At the recent Elders and Youth Conference, which focuses on intergenerational learning and transmitting of core Inupiat values and knowledge, I ran several workshops to introduce GigaPan to the community. Some of the sessions focused on prints, which triggered animated discussion between elders about the difference between villages. Youth from several villages learned to use the GigaPan equipment, and hope to prepare a traveling gallery in the weeks leading up to or following the upcoming Messenger Feast (Kivgiq). Native speakers at the Heritage Center are developing annotations for panoramas in Inupiaq, as we develop best practices for cross-generational interaction with GigaPan panoramas for language documentation."

Laura Tomokiyo is a project scientist in the CREATE Lab. She coordinates the GigaPan Dialogues project with UNESCO, the Documenting our Heritage project with the North Slope Borough of Alaska, and formerly the Civil War Trails project with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Civil War Museum. Before coming to the CREATE Lab, Laura worked for over 15 years in spoken language understanding, including 6 years at a speech synthesis start-up and 3 years in Japan working for Toshiba, the Electrotechnical Labs, and Denshi-Tsuushin Daigaku.  She holds an SB from MIT in Computer Science, an MS in Computational Linguistics from CMU, and a PhD in Language Technologies from CMU.

Related Inupiak links:

24 November 2010

Gigapixel Science in the news

We are so excited to share some recent news:

November 5, 2010
Science
Panning for Science
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6005/748.summary

November 12, 2010
National Geographic Daily News
Billion-Pixel Image Tool Probes Science Mysteries Ultra-zoomable GigaPan gives experts "incredible" new perspective
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101112-gigapan-science-panoramas-technology/

Yesterday, in the November 23 issue of New Scientist, Colin Barras published an article featuring 3 papers and an abstract that were submitted to the gigapixelscience.org open call for participation earlier this year... by Mat Sisk, Matt Bertone & Andy Deans, Susan Lee and Matt Lamanna:

November 23, 2010
New Scientist
Hi-res camerabot explores great and small
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827875.900-hires-camerabot-explores-great-and-small.html?full=true&print=true

this print article is accompanied by a post on the New Scientist Short, Sharp Science blog:
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/11/colossus-image-gives-best-view.html

AND also yesterday, Wired magazine featured the winners of the gigapixelscience.org Juried Gallery show as well as one of Janet Steven's timelapse gigapan videos:

November 23, 2010
Wired Science blog
Zoom In on Top 8 Ultrahigh-Resolution Science Panoramas
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/gigapan-science-images/?pid=643&pageid=42602

23 November 2010

Gigapixel Science thank you

We know everyone must have made it back safely to their corner of the Earth, as panoramas are already popping up on the gigapan.org website from a variety of your locales!  We hope – and believe – you each enjoyed the very first Fine International Conference in Gigapixel Imaging for Science as much as we enjoyed organizing it for you, and having the chance to meet many of you in person.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
All papers accepted to the conference can be found here: http://gigapixelscience.gigapan.org/

MISSED A SESSION? WANT TO SHARE WITH COLLEAGUES & FRIENDS?
All conference sessions were video-recorded. We plan to make these available on youtube very soon, stay tuned, check http://gigapixelscience.org for updates!

We hope to see you all in 2012!

Sincerely,

Mary Jo Daines
Illah Nourbakhsh
Randy Sargent

04 November 2010

Panning for Science in Science Magazine

The GigaPan, CMU Create Lab's Illah Nourbakhsh and Randy Sargent + several Fine Fellows are profiled in Karen A. Frenkel's Science Magazine article "Panning for Science."

Excerpt from the article:
"GigaPans have captured the public's imagination. Five thousand systems have been bought, and today the site hosts 40,000 public panoramas that draw 20 million visitors a year; another 20,000 are in private areas of the site while contributors work on them. Sargent and Nourbakhsh began training scientists to shoot GigaPans in 2008, and some 120 investigators are now using the system in their research. In mid-November, scientists will share findings at the Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science, hosted by CMU and the CREATE lab." Click here to read the rest of this awesome article.
Science 5 November 2010:
Vol. 330. no. 6005, pp. 748 - 749
DOI: 10.1126/science.330.6005.748

18 October 2010

How GigaPan Stitch Works

This workshop, part of the Fine International Gigapixel Conference, will be held on Friday, November 12 from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, will be led by:
  • Paul Heckbert, GigaPan Systems
  • Alexandre Jenny, Kolor
  • Gene Cooper, Four Chambers
  • Randy Sargent, GigaPan Systems/NASA/CMU

GigaPan Stitch is software that takes overlapping digital images shot from a common viewpoint, and aligns and blends them to form a high resolution mosaic. This workshop will describe how the GigaPan Stitch algorithm works, including its strengths and weaknesses and should save users time shooting, stitching, and uploading.

Participants will understand the internal steps used by the Stitch algorithm: input image grid, image feature selection, alignment, projection, blending, and storage in an image quadtree, Learn the best camera and gigapan imager settings, and learn troubleshooting tips to correct common problems.

Register now to attend this workshop:
www.gigapixelscience.org

13 October 2010

More than meets they eye:

No, not transformers. Instead, think "Gigapixel Resolution High Dynamic Range Imaging Workflow and Techniques," a workshop presented by Jay Hirshfeld, CEO/President of Cineflock, LLC and COO/VP of production at Virsocom, Inc. Jay's workshop will demonstrate the benefits and detriments of various methods for obtaining consistent, accurate HDR gigapixel images.

While excellent exposure across an entire image can be achieved in gigapixel-resolution imaging simply by 'averaging' the exposure ranges across a scene, using high dynamic range (HDR) imaging techniques can dramatically improve exposure across the entire field of view, boosting highlight, midtone, and shadow saturation. Utilizing tone mapping techniques allows for increased tonality and apparent definition across an image, often yielding hyperrealistic results. The workshop will explore how to use high dynamic range imaging as an observational tool that ultimately allows for clearer image results as well as understanding the drawbacks and utility in using such techniques.

Jay's searingly clear capture of urban art and decay in Miami: Death of a Warehouse



Don't miss this amazing workshop. Register: www.gigapixelscience.org

08 October 2010

GigaPan for Educators

We are very lucky to have Pittsburgher and Propel-Braddock Hills charter school Principal Joe Oliphant joining us to discuss his use of Gigapan technology in k-12 education.

Mr Oliphant has been a classroom teacher for seven years in various grade levels. He was the Director of Technology Integration for two years before moving to his current position as a Principal. As a member of the Gigapan Dialogue project, Joe received a deeper understanding of how this technological tool can easily be embedded into the classroom with a focus on instruction, writing, and project-based learning.

Workshop participants will be exposed to various technology integration techniques to be used in various classrooms no matter what subject area. This workshop will provide examples of other Web 2.0 tools to use in conjunction with the Gigapan.org site and will be a hands-on discussion where project-based learning approaches will be reviewed.

07 October 2010

GigaPanning Geology

Just another one of our amazing workshops to be presented this November as part of the Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science. Ron Schott of Fort Hays State University will present. Ron is one of the original pilot scientists in the Fine Outreach for Science Fellows program and has worked hard to push the limits of GigaPanning since the fall of 2007, particularly as applied to geology. He was among the pioneers in anaglyph GigaPanning, GigaPan guided audio tours, petrographic gigaphotomicrographs, and currently has more public gigapixels on the GigaPan.org site than anyone else (>620 gigapixels in >550 GigaPans).

His workshop will focus on the application of GigaPanning to geologic research and education. Participants will explore some of the existing applications of GigaPanning in geology (e.g. field site documentation, GigaPan-based visual correlation of outcrops/specimens, macro-GigaPans, petrographic microGigaPans, etc.) and discuss future directions in geologic GigaPanning. Examples of classroom pedagogy and research use of GigaPans will be offered to spark the discussion.

See you in November, Ron!

05 October 2010

Mary Nichols takes on Buffelgrass



Fine Gigapixel conference committee member Mary Nichols, USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center, has been using the GigaPan to document Buffelgrass.

Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) is a non-native grass that threatens the Sonoran Desert ecosystem because it out competes native plants for water and nutrients and it presents a fire hazard in an ecosystem that is not fire adapted. The use of aerially applied herbicide is being tested as a control method is being tested in the Tucson Mountains through a coordinated effort among Federal and Local Agencies, the University of Arizona, and the non-profit Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center.

Buffelgrass is found in steep rocky sites that are difficult to access for both treatment and monitoring to assess the effectiveness of treatments. Sequences of high resolution landscape photos are being taken with the GigaPan system to document the herbicide treatments and research is underway to develop new methods for monitoring treatment effects. Interpretations from the photos will be compared with measurements taken at ground sites. Research is underway by Mary Nichols, Mike Crimmins, and Travis Bean to develop quantitative methods for interrogating GigaPan images.

29 September 2010

Science Like You’ve Never Seen It Before...

Fine International Conference on GigaPixel Imaging for Science

Join us in Pittsburgh November 11-13 for an inspiring new conference regarding the future of imaging for science communication, discovery and documentation. Whether you’re a middle school science teacher, an environmental photojournalist or a Ph.D. physicist, learn how gigapixel imaging is redefining visualization and public participation in science inquiry. Speakers include National Geographic, NASA and Google.
Sponsored by IEEE and AAAS
Details: http://gigapixelscience.org

28 September 2010

We're super excited for this panel at the Gigapixel Conference

On November 12th, we're going to have a super cool panel on micro/macro&nano Gigapixel images.

This panel explores how the application of gigapixel imaging technology can meet these research needs and allow for new discoveries in the microscopic realm. Participants will discuss the design and implementation of a few different instrumental adaptations that enable automatic mosaic capture of images through optical microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and macro photography. This includes a discussion of motion control, focus stacking, and image stitching techniques currently used in our prototype Micro GigaPan devices.

The panel will be composed of:
  • Gene Cooper, President, Four Chambers Studio
  • Rich Gibson / Thinker / Carnegie Mellon University
  • Jay Longson / Researcher / UC Santa Cruz /
  • Richard Palmer
  • John Rawlins / Curator / Carnegie Museum of Natural History
  • Randy Sargent / Carnegie Mellon University

Gigapixel images @ the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Eight giant images have been selected by a jury for the Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging and will be unveiled at a gallery opening on Friday, November 11th. The prints will be up to four feet high and 17 feet wide, encompassing nearly 4 billion pixels (enough to cover 10 billboards at standard resolution). These dramatic works of art and science will be on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History through the end of the year. Congratulations to our winners!


There is still time to register and join us for this amazing conference: www.gigapixelscience.org


27 September 2010

GigaPan: Democratizing information and bolstering bioliteracy


Fine Fellow Alex Smith wrote a fantastic article about his experience with gigapan for the quarterly newsletter of the International Barcode for Live Project.
Alex concludes, "There are many parallels between the GigaPan and DNA barcoding as complementary forces for democratizing information and bolstering bioliteracy. Both are publicly accessible, both will be annotated through time by a community of experts and non-experts alike and both exist as a synthetic connection from the digital to the natural world.
One key to our capacity to understand the changes caused by the increasing pressures of the urbanization and degradation of natural environments will be ongoing monitoring through time. If such monitoring is democratized and publically available as DNA barcodes and GigaPans, then a marginalized environment may become more valued by the human population."

 Check out the full article at http://ibol.org/gigapan/.

21 September 2010

Fine Fellow Callan Bentley @ Smithsonian.com

Forget the museum for geological history, all you need to do is join Callan Bentley, of Northern Virginia Community College, for a tour. Check out the write-up, "Finding Fossils Where you Don't Expect Them" at Smithsonian.com.

Congratulations, Callan.

xRez+workshop=just one awesome part of the Fine Gigapixel Conference

The first ever Gigapixel workshop will include some very fascinating workshops by some very amazing people. xRez Studio, headed by Eric Hansen and Greg Downing, is a creative imaging studio pioneering new methods to capture and convey natural, urban, and imagined landscapes, striving to educate, illuminate, and persuade. Eric Hansen, CEO, is also an Associate Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Eric is a visual effects designer specializing in the creation of digital environments. Greg Downing, President, also teaches at Gnomon School for Visual Effects and has published professional training DVDs on photogrammetry and panoramic stitching. Greg specializes in image-based 3D technologies and computational photography techniques.

On Friday, November 12th, Eric and Greg will lead a hands-on workshop called On-Site Data Acquisition Technique. Participants will learn common techniques used in the feature film visual effects field to acquire information from real-life locations that will later be the basis of 3d reconstructions for visual communication or study. The focus will be on photographic techniques, such as HDRI capture, gigapixel panoramic background photography, photogrammetry for set reconstruction, and polynomial texture mapping for cultural heritage artifacts. Site survey techniques and the recording of lens information and distortion will be demonstrated as well as a brand new technique for 3d point cloud data capture based on Microsoft Photosynth software.

Sound exciting? We think so too. Sign-up to join us at the Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science. It is not too late to register: www.gigapixelscience.org

13 September 2010

Last day for early registration

$200 for three amazing days of Gigapixel Imaging -- you've still got time for early registration. Keynote speakers from National Geographic, Google and NASA. Don't miss this groundbreaking event. www.gigapixelscience.org

Fine Fellow Profile: Pascal Lee

MJ noticed this weekend the Dr. Pascal Lee, a Fine Fellow, planetary scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA, the Principal Investigator of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) and co-founder and chairman of the Mars Institute, posted some cool photos from the Arctic.

The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) isn an international interdisciplinary field research project centered on the scientific study of the Haughton impact structure and surrounding terrain, Devon Island, High Artctic, viewed as a terrestrial analog for Mars.

Last October, Dr. Lee was a Fine Fellow and received training on using a GigaPan. CHeck out some of his recently posted GigaPans from the HMP:

10 September 2010

Profiled: 2009 Fine Fellow Christopher Hoadley


Christopher Hoadley, Associate Professor of Educational Technology at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development is also the Director of dolcelab, the Laboratory for Design Of Learning, Collaboration & Experience. Prior to this appointment, Chris held a joint appointment at Penn State University between the College of Education's Learning and Performance Systems department and the College of Information Sciences and Technology.

At NYU, Chris designs, builds, and studies ways for computers to enhance collaboration and learning. Currently his research focuses on collaborative technologies and computer support for cooperative learning (CSCL). He is an affiliate scholar for the National Academy of Engineering's Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education (CASEE) and was awarded a Fulbright for 2008-2009 in the South Asia Regional program to study educational technologies for sustainability and empowerment in rural Himalayan villages.

While at Penn State University, Chris, along with several other professors led The Mountain Project, a research, outreach, and educational project to help foster and study environmental education and sustainable living in the Himalayas. The Fulbright has enabled Chris to continue this work in Southeast Asia.

Using his GigaPan, Chris has captured some great shots of Kathmandu and India.

08 September 2010

A few Fine Fellows

This year, we welcome 26 new Fine Fellows to Pittsburgh. This will be the fourth class of fellows, who will receive a GigaPan, training on how to use the equipment and our special Gigapan Stitching software. This incredible program is supported by the Fine Foundation and brings scientists and researchers from all over the world together, requesting only that they use the GigaPan in their research and post their images at www.gigapan.org

This year we welcome, among others:

Dr. Laurel Bestock Assistant Professor of Egyptology and Ancient Western Studies, Brown University. Dr Bestock led the inaugural excavation season of the Brown University Abydos Project (BUAP). Abydos, located in southern Egypt, is central to scholars’ attempts to unravel the early history of Egypt.

Dr. Faysal Bibi Postdoctoral Fellow, Institut International de Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers. Faysal Bibi recently completed a PhD in Geology and Geophysics at Yale University and is at the start of a two-year postdoc at the Université de Poitiers, France. His research interests focus on the evolution of mammals in the Neogene, particularly bovids. He has worked in Mongolia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Raymond S. Bradley University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Director of the Climate System Research Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr Bradley's interests lie in climate variability across a wide range of time scales. He is particularly interested in how present day climate differs from climates in the past, and what may have caused climates to change and has written or edited eleven books on climatic change and paleoclimatology and authored over 120 articles on these topics.


Gigapixel advanced registration - September 13 deadline

With Labor Day just behind us, we are squarely set into fall. Which means that the FIRST Fine International Gigapixel Conference is coming soon! November 11th, to be precise. So while many of you are leaving behind fond summer memories and kicking off new semesters, don't forget to take advantage of the early registration rate of $200, with the rate rising to $250 after Monday, September 13th. You can find all of the registration details here

The conference is packed with really exciting workshops, speakers, panels and an opportunity to learn from and meet with a lot of really great people. On opening night, we have a keynote from Mark Bauman of the National Geographic Society followed by a reception at the Carnegie Museum featuring selected gigapixel images.

We hope you will join us!

03 September 2010

New Fine Fellows

We can't wait to meet our new class of Fine Fellows to arrive on November 10th. With a no-strings-attached approach, participants in this program have the freedom to discover new and useful ways to use GigaPan technology that those outside their field might never consider. We will equip and train renowned leaders in a variety of fields to use the GigaPan system. These scientists will then be set loose to bring their own scientific, critical and creative eyes to bear, applying the technology to their field of specialization.

To see how some of our fellows have put their cameras to us, check out these profiles:

Christopher Davis
, a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, worked with local archaeology students in Brazil as he tries to unlock the mysteries held in ancient archaeoastronomical rock art in Brazil's Amazonian Monte Alegre hills. Chris will return this year to present his work and lead a workshop.

Matt Lamanna
, is the Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and lead dinosaur paleontologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He has used his GigaPan to capture a fossil excavation in the Changma Basin of northwestern Gansu Province, China.



02 September 2010

Fine Fellow Lisa McKeon, USGS NOROCK

This summer, we've been noticing a lot of awesome GigaPan images of Glacier National Park, taken by Fine Fellow Lisa McKeon. McKeon, a physical scientist at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) specializes in repeat photography, graphics, and data management. She has witnessed Glacier National Park's glaciers recede and is involved in deciphering how mountain ecosystems respond to climate change.



Recently, her work has focused on providing scientific understanding and resources to the public, directly or through the NOROCK website. Whether taking precision measurements of glacier margins or creating a useful website, it has been a pleasure to assist with efforts to increase our understanding of the effects of climate change in this beautiful corner of the world. Check out all of Lisa's GigaPan captures.

01 September 2010

Twitter

Follow-us, tweet with us, and let us retweet your tweets! It's a win-win scenario. http://twitter.com/FOFSgigapan

26 August 2010

Fine Fellows and Int'l GigaPixel Conference



We are getting really excited to host the new class of Fine Fellows this November in Pittsburgh. The 2010 Fine Fellows will kick off with a workshop to learn how to use a GigaPan and the stitching software. The fun does not end there. Kicking off at Carnegie Mellon University on November 11th is the FIRST Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science. Brought to you by CREATE Lab, Carnegie Mellon University with The Fine Foundation, the conference aims to explore innovative uses of GigaPan in the classroom, the field and the laboratory by leading scientists. Tell your colleagues and get on board, because this conference is going to be packed with arts, smarts and camera parts. The main purpose of the event is to bring together students, researchers, scientists, teachers and practitioners to present and discuss their latest techniques, ideas, applications and research findings related to various aspects of gigapixel imaging for science. Google's Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President, Engineering & Research leads Friday morning's keynote with a welcome by CMU's President Dr. Jared Cohen. Keep checking the website for additional details on the conference.

25 August 2010

52 weeks of photos




On the University of Guelph campus in Ontario, Canada, the “Dairy Bush” is an 8.5 ha woodlot that has been part of the city and the university campus since 1830. The sign outside the Bush reads, "The Dairy Bush is a unique and delicate example of Great Lakes St. Lawrence forest in Southern Ontario, and serves as an outdoor laboratory for University of Guelph students." Between August 2009 and September 2010, 2008 Fine Fellow and Assistant Professor of Molecular Ecology Alex Smith has been visiting the Dairy Bush weekly to document a year in this urban woodlot using GigaPan panoramic images.

From a snail hanging out on a tree in September '09 to a tiny fly in May '10, Alex has captured many delicate features of this unique ecosystem. At week 51, Alex is about to wrap up an entire year of weekly GigaPan-ing. This impressive collection features many unique captures not only in Guleph, Canada, but also in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, CA,
Costa Rica and Belize.

Dr. Alex Smith is an Assistant Professor in Molecular Ecology at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario.

09 June 2010

GigaScapula, by Maguyver (aka Fine Fellow Matt Sisk)


What do you do when you're working in a remote location and you realize you've forgotten a crucial part of your tripod?

Fine Fellow Matt Sisk  recently returned from archaeology field work in Ethiopia, where he faced this dilemma... He says,"I've attached a photo of a new innovation in gigapan technology. Well, maybe not new, but when someone forgets the socket for the tripod and you're miles away from another, sometimes you have to Maguyver a solution out of cow bones and duct tape.  It worked surprisingly well..."

Matt is an archeology PhD Student at Stonybrook State University of New York whose work focuses mainly on the origins and character of modern human behavior, particularly use of the landscape. His dissertation research relates site location to models of subsistence, settlement, and sociality in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic of the Vezere Valley in southwest France.

View all of Matt's GigaPans

Paper submission now open

Submit a paper: http://precisionconference.com/~fofs

 We're so pleased to release the paper submission details for the first Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science (November 11–13, 2010 • Pittsburgh, PA).  Please note we've extended the paper submission deadline to June 28.

Paper Submission details
Prospective authors are invited to submit full-length, 4-6 page papers, including annotated gigapans where applicable. We expect gigapixel imaging to play a significant role in contributing to the scientific merit of the research described. The preferred format is a PDF file with 8.5x11 inch pages, 1 column, 10 point font (To create PDF from Microsoft Word, for example, just do Save As: PDF).
[download the paper submission template .doc | download the full CFP .pdf]

The proceedings will not be printed in a bound volume but will be available for free under an Open Access policy from a server at cs.cmu.edu during the conference and indefinitely afterward. PDF typically keeps only several hundred dots per inch, so to enable readers to see the full detail of gigapixel images, authors are strongly encouraged to include links to high resolution, interactive, or video media that resides outside their PDF. To do so, simply add a link to your document, e.g.: http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/17217/ or http://www.panoramas.dk/2009/lake-annecy-paragliding.html.

Some submissions will be accepted as 30 minute presentations and some will be accepted as posters with short talks. Attendees will have a range of scientific backgrounds, so please make your paper readable to people outside your specialty, and spell out acronyms on first use. Papers that have been previously published or are submitted elsewhere should be so identified. After a paper is accepted, authors can not only revise their PDF but also have the option to create a rich online format for the accepted paper, which could include for example HTML with embedded media.

Submit a paper: http://precisionconference.com/~fofs

Important Dates
June 28, 2010  •  Paper submission deadline
August 6, 2010  •  Paper and gallery show acceptance notification
August 23, 2010  •  Revised paper upload deadline
September 13, 2010  • Early registration deadline
October 21, 2010  •  Conference Registration deadline
November 11–13, 2010  •  Conference dates

Please visit the conference website at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~fofs for additional information, submission details, and further updates.

05 May 2010

Time Lapse GigaPan



Exciting news from the CREATE Lab - we've recently started time lapse gigapan trials!

There are already several Fine Fellows experimenting with time lapse gigapan on their own, such as Craig Miller at Defenders of Wildlife and Alex Smith at the University of Guelph.

Craig Miller has set up several photo-remonitoring points in the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora to help measure the effectiveness of various landscape treatments. Check out this gigapan taken in June 2008 on the last day livestock were permitted to graze on the land. Compare that with this gigapan taken in September 2009... zoom in to see the improving ground cover in areas with severe terracing and erosion.

Alex Smith has been using GigaPan in some of his classes at the University of Guelph that utilise a local woodlot, the Dairy Bush. He says, "This project involves me shooting the same panorama weekly throughout the year to help classes (that can only access the bush for short periods of time) get an appreciation for the changes that occur in the bush throughout the year." Check out this panorama series or read more in an article published earlier this year [Camera mount gets big picture, smallest details, Guelph Tribune].

27 April 2010

GigaPan for Science, Seeing the Forest for the Trees



Carnegie Mellon University published an article today featuring Fine Scientist Bill Wallauer of the Jane Goodall Institute. Read about his experience with GigaPan and how the Fine Outreach for Science Fellows program grew into the Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science.

Panorama: Tobacco Field in Chimp Habitat by Bill Wallauer, Jane Goodall Institute

22 April 2010

Keynote speakers announced

We are thrilled to announce the keynote speakers for the first Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science!
  • Mark Bauman, executive vice president of National Geographic Television
  • Alan Eustace, Google senior vice president for engineering
  • Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames Research Center
Get more information about submitting a paper or entering one of your images in the juried gallery show

21 April 2010

Nano GigaPan for the masses

Thanks to researchers at NASA Ames & Four Chambers Studio, Micro GigaPan may soon be within your reach! 

From the nano gigapan blog:
Randy Sargent, Gene Cooper, Rich Gibson and I (Jay Longson) are working towards developing a suite of tools to aid in making these macro/micro/nano gigapans. We're hoping to very soon put together a standard recipe to enable people to adapt their own microscopes to take similar imagery. Our goal is for this to become a DIY project with differing levels of complexity based on the makers knowledge and skills. On one end of the spectrum will be a kit with all the necessary parts to create a gigapan enabled microscope, on the other end will be makers using some of the tools we develop here to modify their own microscopes. We hope to publish the "how to" through Make magazine. We aim to get these tools into the hands as as many people as possible, research scientists and kids alike. Stay tuned for more information.
Nano GigaPan in the news:
Nano GigaPan offers panoramic views of microscopic worlds
[cnet]

Ultra detailed photo of barnacle
[boingboing]

Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science

The CREATE Lab, Carnegie Mellon University with The Fine Foundation, is pleased to announce the first Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science to be held November 11–13, 2010 on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

The conference aims to explore innovative use of gigapan in the classroom, the field and the laboratory by leading scientists. The main purpose of the event is to bring together students, researchers, scientists, teachers and practitioners to present and discuss their latest techniques, ideas, applications and research findings related to various aspects of gigapixel imaging for science. The conference program will consist of keynote speakers, tutorials, workshops, technical presentations, poster presentations, lightning talks, birds of a feather sessions and a juried exhibition of GigaPan prints.

Join us in November! Conference registration will open later this month, however, you can learn more now about submitting a paper or entering one of your panoramas in our juried gallery show.