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

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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!

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.