| NSF Org: |
CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 27, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 27, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1428204 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Rita Rodriguez
CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $175,195.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $175,195.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1000 HILLTOP CIR BALTIMORE MD US 21250-0001 (410)455-3140 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore MD US 21250-0002 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Major Research Instrumentation |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.070 |
ABSTRACT
This project, acquiring a photogrammetry-based 3D acquisition system (multi-camera computer vision 3D capture system) as a research instrument, aims to enable easy and repeatable collection of data across a wide range of research areas (Computer Science, Information Science, Geography, Environmental Science, Engineering, American Studies, Visual Arts, History, Library Science, etc.). The system consists of 96 synchronized cameras and associated flash and projection lights to capture a single object ranging from about 5 centimeters to several meters instantly. The flexibility of a photo-based system allows the same system to capture high resolution models over a wide range of scales, and to be equally useful for a single rigid object, an object in motion, or a person using a subject, object, or software, all with no object or subject preparation and minimal setup or reconfiguration.
The scanning device is likely to have significant impacts: the projects on assistive technologies promise a lasting impact on disabled individuals; the brain imaging and genomics projects promise improvements on diagnostics health; the project will also have impact in the humanities, in understanding, and in documenting artifacts; and the digital library project will directly address how data generated by an instrument like this one can be preserved and referenced.
Additionally, the project will have impacts on education and training of students. The center that will house the instrument has significant undergraduate staff who will be exposed to a state-of-the-art instrument and the research it enables. Undergraduate assistants, under the guidance of the center staff, will support the staffing for the instrument. Moreover, the instrument will impact several classes directly which will be able to use object and motion scanning equipment that is seldom available to undergraduates.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The UMBC Photogrammetric Scanning Facility is a 3D scanning rig capable of taking 94 simultaneous photos and reconstructing a 3D computer model of the subject. This facility is housed within the UMBC Imaging Research Center (IRC), a cross-disciplinary center merging technology, art, and science. The scanning facility takes about about the time of a camera flash to capture the data, and a few hours to process it into a 3D model, with a day or two of additional manual processing for high quality models. To date, the facility has been used to construct over 21,000 3D scans from almost 2 million photos. The Intellectual Merit of this facility is its support for scientific research projects on the UMBC campus and beyond. This includes projects in Computer Science, Psychology and Mechanical Engineering. The Broader Impact is evident through additional projects the instrument has supported in the history and the arts, which can also benefit from easily captured 3D models of real objects for creative and archival purposes; through its use in education for several classes at UMBC; and through the exposure to research that it has provided to both undergraduates and graduate students.
Further, through a series of open scanning days, the facility has taken over 750 3D scans for the general campus community. For some in the campus community, this has been an easy and low-overhead way for even small research projects to create and use 3D scanning technology. Others have just been attracted by the novelty of having a 3D scan of themselves, a pet, or an object they own. Nonetheless, even the less technical participants in the scanning days are learning about the technology, its capabilities, and the types of scientific projects it can support.
Through this award, we have 1) acquired and installed a state-of-the-art 3D scanning facility at UMBC, 2) Supported use of that facility for a wide range of projects, ranging from some needing just a single scanned object to one requiring automated scanning of thousands of successive 3D models over a period of weeks. In the process, we have developed expertise in 3D photogrammetric scanning technology and have contributed our own changes and improvements to the software for the device. In addition, we have been able to support 3D processing of photos taken by researchers outside the facility, using the equipment, software and expertise of the facility to construct models much larger than the static scanning rig.
Last Modified: 11/27/2017
Modified by: Marc Olano
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