Teaching 3D modeling and simulation: virtual kelp forest case study

ABSTRACT

Two classes of graduate students learning 3D graphics and analytic simulation at the Naval Postgraduate School modeled the three_dimensional (3D) shape, structure, imagery and motion behaviors of plants and animals in the kelp forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Our intended audience includes educators and students of all ages, scientific users interested in composing models in a 3D Web environment, and the general public. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) proved to be an excellent medium for capturing diverse models, composing multiple student efforts, and publishing dynamic results publicly on the Web. By focusing on thoroughly modeling a controlled environment, we produced an exemplar 3D graphics site for modeling larger and more sophisticated underwater domains. This project was successfully demonstrated to numerous new users, including 1000 people during the 1998 National Ocean Fair in Monterey. Recent results include scene translation to the Extensible 3D (X3D) Graphics specification, using the Extensible Markup Language (XML) for scene-graph encoding. Overall, this project serves as an interesting case study on teaching contemporary computer graphics to university students with a wide range of backgrounds.

REFERENCES

• 1: Andrea L. Ames , David R. Nadeau , John L. Moreland, The VRML 2.0 sourcebook (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1997
• 2: Brutzman, Donald P. et al., Kelp Forest Exhibit Modeling Project, 2D/3D website and distribution, November 1999. Available at http://web.nps.navy.mil/brutzman/kelp
• 3: Brutzman, Don, "Graphics Internetworking: Bottlenecks and Breakthroughs," chapter four, Digital Illusions, Clark Dodsworth editor, Addison-Wesley, Reading Massachusetts, August 1997. Available at http://web.nps.navy.mil/brutzman/vrml/breakthroughs.html
• 4: Brutzman, Donald P., "Networked Ocean Science Research and Education, Monterey Bay California," INET 95: Fifth Annual Conference of the Internet Society, Honolulu Hawaii, June 27-30 1995. Available at http://www.isoc.org/HMP/PAPER/039/abst.html
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• 7: Brutzman, Don, X3D-Edit Authoring Tool with Multilingual Tooltip Support, software and content distribution page. Accompanied by numerous examples and X3D Conformance Suite. Available at http://www.web3D.org/TaskGroups/x3d/translation/README. X3D-Edit.html http://www.web3D.org/TaskGroups/x3d/translation/examples/ Conformance/contents.html
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• 12: Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), website including kelp forest details, Monterey California, December 2000. Available at http://www.MontereyBayAquarium.org
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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.7 Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.7 DOCUMENT AND TEXT PROCESSING
      I.7.2 Document Preparation

          Nouns: VRML

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Computer science education

General Terms:
Human Factors, Languages

Keywords:
3D graphics education, VRML, X3D, kelp forest