We trialled the Oculus Rift headset on Lake
George, a large ephemeral lake in south-eastern
NSW, where the lake bed is dated at more than
a million years old.
Geoscience Australia has previously collected
data on the geology here, including seismic
and magnetic data, and sediment samples.
Out in the field we want to visualise all
of the subsurface data we've collected, in
its correct location.
We have developed a custom Android application
that uses the phones GPS for positional tracking.
The position information is sent to the data
visualisation software, where a virtual camera
tracks this position as well as our head rotation.
This 3D view of the data is streamed to the
Oculus Rift headset.
So, as you move your head you can see the
data appearing in exactly the right place.
We can toggle different data sets on and off,
such as seismic lines, resistivity, and boreholes,
as well as 3D surfaces, and volumes.
The data shown is rendered to each eye simultaneously,
giving the viewer a great sense of depth and
immersion.
You feel like you're able to look right down
through the earth at the data concealed literally
beneath your feet.
To capture this demonstration video, we attached
a 'point of view' camera to the front of the
headset and then recorded the video footage
and the head rotation data.
We then rendered the different datasets out
as animations and composited them over the
top of the live action footage.
You can literally walk around in the headset
examining the data.
For example, we were able to walk the entire
length of the seismic line towards the borehole.
The Oculus Rift allows us to see the landscape
out here quite differently than we usually
would - it brings together the physical experience
of standing on the surface and observing visible
features of the landscape such as land use,
vegetation and surface geology, and combines
these with a visualisation of the subsurface.
By enabling all of this to be brought together
into the same immersive environment, we can
help scientists to see how their datasets
and models connect in the real world and potentially
help them spot any anomalies or new opportunities.
We can also use the Oculus Rift to create
new experiences for non-science audiences,
such as policy makers, future investors and
education groups.
