Planet Four Talk

Experimental surface tour around a spider

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe

    Hi All,

    This is basically an experiment of mine using very basic software to try and recreate a 3D view from a Planet 4 image. Although I think it may be a fair idea of the surface, I would not be surprised to find that it is nothing like the real thing.

    I had to choose an image that was not too colourful as I needed to use its NEGATIVE version in a simple 3D terrain package (Vista Pro 4) to try and get the 'ups & downs' the right way round.

    I have not spent a lot of time (none in actual fact) on refinement but I have attached a link below to see the original image plus other 3D images and 4 animated (very crude) journies across that surface.

    If the link does not work, please let me know. The animations (AVI files) may need to be downloaded and played on windows media player.

    There are lots of faults with the process such as scaling, colour interpretation to altitude and direction of light but it is just an experiment. The two most glaringly obvious faults are

    1/ Some portions of Spider legs that were covered in dust and not frost will appear as flat or raised ground.

    2/ The surface should be covered in dark dust but in my experiment it appears as white ice.

    It would be interesting if anyone views the pictures and/or animations to see how you think it compares to how you see the surface.

    I expect the science team have proper landscapes, so it would be interesting to know how far out my experiment is.

    I THINK THE BEST OF THE ANIMATIONS TO SEE IS THE MARSCOPTER_HIGHER. This circles the right_central spider starting at 6 o'clock and turns into centre at 9 o'clock.

    If you do view any and think they are complete garbage, please say so, because I will not be offended - this is just an experiment.

    Link to the Pictures and Animations that I think will work. If not, I can email a copy or next year, I will put it on my web-site.

    http://1drv.ms/13JzvF3

    Paul

    Posted

  • mschwamb by mschwamb scientist, translator in response to PaulMetcalfe's comment.

    Hi Paul,

    Very cool. A cool attempt with no other information to go on. Have you seen the HiRISE stereo pairs where you get depth information? I wrote a blog post about this awhile back with the images combined such that you can us 3-D glasses. The HiRISE team just released a combined image for a stereo pair taken in November of Manhattan. I'm planning on writing a blog post about it the Manhattan stereo pair this week.

    Cheers,

    ~Meg

    Posted

  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator in response to PaulMetcalfe's comment.

    Hi Paul. The link to OneDrive works fine, so I can see the images ok. They look fantastic - I'm impressed. I can't play the videos from that link though so I started to Download, but according to my 'download clock' this will take 6 hours! Maybe getting them on your website will make it easier to view (?)

    Whatever, you should definately do more of this stuff. Even without the video the images are really interesting. Thanks for posting and I look forward to the next installment. 😃

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe in response to Kitharode's comment.

    Hi,

    I think it might be something to do with the video codecs being a bit ancient (I am not sure but it sounds like a good excuse). Anyway, I think I know of a solution.

    I will put an animation on a Microsoft powerpoint 2010 document at the same location you visited.

    Powerpoint should open automatically when selected and the animation should play.

    Take a look sometime in the next 24 hours and if I need a new link I will post it.

    Glad you liked the images - I think they are not to far removed from being realistic.

    Paul

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe in response to Kitharode's comment.

    Hi again,

    I will need to leave the video's till I can record them on more up to date software because Powerpoint online struggled with them.

    I might try to post another scene or two in the not to distant future but they will not be anything special. At the moment I cannot use anything that has fans, boulders or lots of colour but I am working on it.

    Paul

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe

    Hi All,

    Sorry about the AVI file animations.

    I have now updated them to MP4 and they should play okay now. They won't win an Oscar but probably the best is MARSCOPTER_HIGHER.

    I have updated the original link above.

    Paul

    Posted

  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator in response to PaulMetcalfe's comment.

    WOW ... That is really great stuff. I'm totally impressed with what you've done. Well done indeed. 😃

    The videos work well even on my rubbish broadband, so whatever you've done you should keep doing it. I really hope you'll get time to do some more. If you take requests, something from Angi60's 'Manhatten Mounds' would be interesting. http://talk.planetfour.org/#/collections/CPFS0001go

    Fabulous work Paul. Thanks again for posting it. Cheers, Kith.

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe in response to Kitharode's comment.

    Hi Kith,
    Glad you liked them but they are only a simple visualisation based on a flat picture.

    Anyway, I looked at a couple of the Manhattan pictures APF0001fzl & APF0001g88 and find it hard to create a visualisation that I would want to offer up.

    A lot of detail gets lost and the mounds (what I call ribbed cones) can only be shown as lumps of rock.

    I don't know if anyone has noticed it but channels lead away from those cones and the top left large cone has a rib that seems to continue off left as a ground channel.

    The ground on g88 is also full of dust covered channels that get lost in processing. I may post some of the FAILED scenes later to show why I don't like them.

    There are two other quick scenes from other P4 images posted that are not too bad.

    Paul

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe

    Just posted a powerpoint document on the previous updated link to show why I found some Manhattan images difficult for visualisation as 3D and do not consider the end result to be anything like what should be seen. However, I may work on a solution in time.

    The link is http://1drv.ms/13JzvF3

    Paul

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe

    Hi All,

    I have just popped back to finish this thread off as a few of you showed an interest. I have opened a website that is accessible but still being worked on at www.pauls-time-warp.com that has some FUN Martian animations available to view. If anyone does visit, please let me know via the site if there are any problems.

    If any official from the Zooniverse or Planet Four site visits and thinks I should not display them, then just leave a comment or email me and I will remove them. Whatever, I would like to put a link to the Zooniverse site and / or Planet Four Site. If this is okay, please let me know via my web site or by email.

    I will be trying (when I have time) to improve the not very brilliant animations already done – 9 of them listed below and to add others. I do not claim any of them to be scientifically or in any other way accurate portrayals of the true surface.

    1 Diving a Spider

    2 Diving a Lattice Surface

    3 Diving a Ribbed Surface

    4 Circling a Spider 1

    5 Circling a Spider 2

    6 Flying a Crater

    7 Random Spider crossing

    8 Crossing a Ridge (This is probably the least like the original image but it was fun)

    9 Attempting to follow some Spider legs

    There are also screen captures from abandoned attempts
    .
    Anyway, they are there for you to see (Just go to the MARTIAN ANIMATIONS page and press the link GO SEE THE ANIMATIONS

    All the best Paul

    Posted

  • wassock by wassock moderator

    Hi Paul, sadly we don't have any links or images and the earlier oneDrive links don't seem to be working either 😦

    As you were, found the url, was looking for a hyperlink. Good stuff Paul, how long did that lot take you?

    Posted

  • mschwamb by mschwamb scientist, translator in response to PaulMetcalfe's comment.

    Hi Paul,

    I think it's all fine, if you can add a link back to Planet Four that would be great. The original source of the images is the HiIRSE public webpage. We cut them into smaller chunks. They should be free use as long as you have include the reference: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

    I'd also add a link to the HiRISE webpage http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

    Cheers,

    ~Meg

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe in response to mschwamb's comment.

    Hi Meg

    Sorry I have taken so long to respond but I have been unexpectedly very busy and all thought of Planet Four and my web site has taken a back seat. Anyway I will add the reference and link as I am working on my web site again.

    Happy New year to all

    Paul

    Posted

  • PaulMetcalfe by PaulMetcalfe in response to wassock's comment.

    Hi,

    As with my reply to Meg, I am catching up on several months away from fun stuff. I am not sure what links I had back then as I modified the page before another unrelated project just took off out of the blue. Anyway, the animations are probably the same but now played directly on the page. No new stuff.

    It is difficult to answer how long they took to create as I fitted them in to other stuff but I would estimate each one took between 1 and 2 hours. In order to get more accurate animations, I reckon I would be talking several days at minimum for each one.

    I am still busy on other stuff that must take precedence so, I can not forecast any more animations for quite a while.

    All the best to everyone

    Paul

    Posted