Developing Digital Paleontological Collections: Searching, Visualizing, and Measuring Virtual Specimens

开发数字古生物学馆藏：搜索、可视化和测量虚拟标本

• 批准号: 9870856
• 负责人: Kenneth McGwire
• 金额: $ 57.16万
• 依托单位: Nevada System of Higher Education, Desert Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-10-01 至 2002-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9870856&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developing; Digital; Paleontological; Collections; Searching

Accessing paleontological specimens curated at facilities throughout the world increases both the cost and time required for research in evolutionary biology. Although a number of electronic databases currently name the facility where specimens and/or assemblages of North American vertebrate collections are housed (e.g. FAUNMAP)* no existing database yet contains detailed descriptive information on individual specimens. Published data for fossil specimens varies greatly from specimen to specimen. depending on the nature of the publication and the research interests of the investigator. Other researchers addressing different issues cannot necessarily find published data that is comparable to their own data and specimens. The proposed effort will address these problems in biological research by developing: methods for collecting or compiling digital representations of paleontological samples. database methods for efficiently storing and cataloging these digital representations a search-engine for locating specimens in a distributed network of digital archives. and interactive visualization and measurement of these digital representations across the internet. A variety of techniques exists for creating digital representations of physical objects that could allow simultaneous access and interactive measurements of specimens from collections throughout the World. Such representations may range from simple photography with selected perspective views to full volumetric representations created by a medical imaging CT scanner. Each method will have unique characteristics in terms of the nature and accuracy of their spatial representation. as well as cost. The proposed effort will develop standardized digitizing methods for paleontological samples and appropriate models for estimating the uncertainty of measurements derived from these various types of digital representations. Efficient access to these digital representations will require the appli cation of database methods that cover the traditional needs for cataloging physical specimens as well as capturing relevant aspects of the methods by which the sample was digitized. This effort will emphasize the development of a scalable architecture that will allow the implementation to vary among a number of distributed institutions, in order to accommodate their available resources. These distributed databases will be accessed through an intemet search engine front-end. Specimens in these databases can then be selected and object-oriented programming methods will be used to provide interactive visualization and measurements that are appropriate for the given type of digital representation. Interactive measurements will be supplemented with estimates of spatial uncertainty derived from models of geometric error. These models will be parameterized by database records describing the methods and circumstances of data capture for each item. Abslxact July 25, 1998 1 This system will be developed in direct collaboration with paleontological researchers and will be developed and tested using dental specimens of various species of mammoth from Anzo Borrego National Park and the Burke Museum at the University of Washington. Seattle. The ability to rapidly relate newly recovered specimens to objective, exhaustive and publicly accessible digital representations from archives around the wo~d would support a vast array of scientific investigations in biology, as well as other disciplines like archeology. In addition. this capability will prove invaluable to museums, libraries, and K= 12 education. Abstract July 25, 1998 2

在世界各地的设施中管理的大量古生物标本增加了进化生物学研究所需的成本和时间。虽然目前有一些电子数据库命名的设施，标本和/或集合的北美脊椎动物收藏（如FAUNMAP）* 没有现有的数据库还包含详细的描述信息，个别标本。已发表的化石标本数据因标本而异。这取决于出版物的性质和研究者的研究兴趣。 其他研究人员解决不同的问题，不一定能找到出版的数据，是可比的，他们自己的数据和标本。拟议的努力将通过发展以下方面来解决生物研究中的这些问题： 收集或编辑古生物样本的数字表示的方法。 用于有效地存储和编目这些数字表示的数据库方法 一个搜索引擎，用于在数字档案的分布式网络中定位标本。和 这些数字交互式可视化和测量 在互联网上的表现。 有多种技术可用于创建实物的数字表示，这些技术可允许同时访问和交互式测量来自世界各地的标本。这种表示的范围可以从具有所选透视图的简单摄影到由医学成像CT扫描仪创建的全体积表示。每一种方法在其空间表示的性质和准确性方面都有其独特的特点。以及成本。拟议的努力将开发标准化的古生物样品的数字化方法和适当的模型，用于估计来自这些不同类型的数字表示的测量的不确定性。 有效地访问这些数字表示将需要应用数据库的方法，涵盖传统的需要编目物理标本，以及捕捉有关方面的方法，其中样本被数字化。这项工作将强调开发一个可伸缩的体系结构，允许在许多分布式机构中实现不同的功能，以适应其可用资源。这些分布式数据库将通过一个互联网搜索引擎前端访问。然后可以选择这些数据库中的样本，并使用面向对象的编程方法来提供适合于给定类型的数字表示的交互式可视化和测量。 交互式测量将辅以从几何误差模型得出的空间不确定性估计数。 这些模型将由数据库记录参数化，这些记录描述每一项目的数据采集方法和情况。 抽象 一九九八年七月二十五日 1 该系统将与古生物学研究人员直接合作开发，并将使用来自Anzo Borrego国家公园和华盛顿大学伯克博物馆的各种猛犸的牙齿标本进行开发和测试。西雅图。将新发现的标本与来自世界各地档案馆的客观、详尽和公开的数字化表达迅速联系起来的能力，将支持生物学以及考古学等其他学科的大量科学研究。另外。这种能力将被证明对博物馆、图书馆和12岁以下的教育是无价的。 摘要 一九九八年七月二十五日 2