Volumetric Display of Cave Systems; Human Innovation versus Ocean Conservation

The environment is one of the most important and most ignored parts of our life that never gets enough attention, with the two most fragile being the ocean and underground cave systems. My technical project was to design a swept volumetric display that would allow for underground cave maps to be shown in a 3D space. This would provide cave explorers with information about the cave systems in a 3D space. My STS project discusses the state of the ocean, how society needs to balance human innovation in the ocean with preserving our natural worlds undersea. This was done through multiple literary reviews to determine what technologies are being created in the ocean and what humanity needs to do to improve the quality of the ocean. Within these two topics, the biggest overlap is the idea of human technology versus environmental preservation, with the display increasing traffic to a fragile area, while the paper aims to caution human intervention into an already fragile environment. My group’s capstone project was to create a swept volumetric display. Every year many cave explorers risk their lives for the thrill of wandering through uncharted territory. Our group’s goal was to create a better way to survey a cave system, and our solution came to the swept volumetric display. This display takes in a 3D image of a cave from a CAD model and deconstructs it into columns. These columns are then configured onto a spinning LED matrix which, when lit and spinning at the correct speed, creates a holographic effect of the cave system. This is used as an augmentation to normal maps, but it helps the diver understand how the cave is formed in a way that’s like being in the cave. Our goal by the end of this project was to have a functioning swept volumetric display that would have the capability to show all portions of any cave system, if there was a 3D model already created. During our design and implementation, we had run into a couple hurdles, and eventually ended with a project that was good, but not up to expectations. The project was able to successfully take a 3D object, dissect each part, and be uploaded to a microcontroller that would turn on the correct LEDs at the correct times. There were issues with the motor speed, which didn’t create the image as well as expected, as well as the inability to move throughout the cave system. Even with those setbacks, we had a working prototype that was able to take a 3D image from the computer and project it onto the display and the display was able to spin at a speed that you could see the image it was trying to convey. My STS project discusses how the ocean is a very fragile environment and should be heavily considered when looking into the future. Humans are continuing to push innovation into the ocean, chief among them being offshore wind turbines. When implementing new and impactful technology, it’s more important than ever to consider how it would affect the ocean. The ocean has been on a decline in health for the last 70 years, and without a major change in pollution, overfishing, and abuse of the landscape, we could eradicate all marine life in the ocean. In doing research on how human innovators should handle such a matter, I analyzed what is happening in the ocean right now in terms of conditions of areas with high marine biodiversity, as well as how technology, mostly wind turbines, will affect the ocean landscape even more. This was done through case studies, which allowed for the data between them to be collected and analyzed. Through conducting my research, I noticed two major issues with the state of the ocean. Overfishing is a huge issue going on, where there's too many fish being taken from the ocean, and not enough time for the fish to repopulate. The other, larger, issue is pollution. There are millions of tons of waste in the ocean, and microplastics have invaded all parts of the ocean, including sea life. Within these two issues other ones arise, like the increase in climate change due to pollution, and habitats being destroyed. While there are some efforts to help the ocean recover, new human technology is taking a lot more care in what effects it can have on the ocean. Offshore wind turbines are large turbines that either need to be set in the seafloor or anchored down while floating. When researching the harm they could cause, the articles discussed the issues with them, but then gave ways to prevent these issues from happening. Although I think that more efforts need to be put in place to aid in the restoration and preservation of the ocean, humanity has gone a long way in making sure the ocean is heavily considered when new technologies are being developed.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Technical Advisor: Adam Barnes

STS Advisor: Pedro Francisco

Technical Team Members: Zane Gunn, Lance Shaffer, Joseph Beauchamp, Thomas Johnson