We All Live in a Virtual Submarine
Our seas and oceans hide a plethora of archaeological sites such as ancient shipwrecks that, overtime, are being destroyed through activities such as deepwater trawling and treasure hunting. In 2006, a multidisciplinary team of 11 European institutions established the Venus (Virtual Exploration of Underwater Sites) consortium to make underwater sites more accessible by generating thorough, exhaustive 3D records for virtual exploration. Over the past three years, we surveyed several shipwrecks around Europe and investigated advanced techniques for data acquisition using both autonomous and remotely operated vehicles coupled with innovative sonar and photogrammetric equipment. Access to most underwater sites can be difficult and hazardous owing to deep waters. However, this same inhospitable environment offers extraordinary opportunities to archaeologists because darkness, low temperatures, and low oxygen rates are all favorable to preservation. From a visualization pipeline perspective, this project had two main challenges. First, we had to gather large amounts of raw data from various sources. Then, we had to develop techniques to filter, calibrate, and map the data and then bring it all together into a single accurate visual representation.
Real-Time Visualization in the Offshore Industry
Real-time underwater visualization has been extremely slow to develop within the offshore industry and has generally been limited to 2D representations of vessel positions on digital charts. Only recently have marine industries realized the potential of 3D real-time virtual environments and visualization systems for effective management planning and real-time situation awareness. We describe a real-time visualization of the clean-up of a former US Naval Submarine Base, located in Holy Loch, Scotland. Our Whole-Field Modeling System has provided an accurate real-time visualization of numerous varying parameters such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), cranes, barges, grabs, magnets, and detailed seabed topography. The system improved the field staffs' spatial and temporal awareness and facilitated decision making within the complex offshore working environment. A side bar discusses another application, offshore diamond mining.
A Public Health Approach to Child Protection: Why Data Matter
In Australia, many researchers and policy makers believe that statutory child protection systems are overburdened and ineffective. The way forward, they suggest, is a public health model of child protection. A public health approach comprises four steps: (1) collecting surveillance data; (2) establishing causes and correlations; (3) developing and evaluating interventions; and (4) disseminating information about the effectiveness of intervention activities to the public health community. However, in Australia there are no reliable surveillance data. There is no information about ‘person’. Information is not collected about the characteristics of children (e.g., ethnicity) and parents (e.g., mental illness) reported to child protection services. Data are not comparable across place. This is because the states and territories have their own child protection legislation, definitions and data recording methods. Data are not comparable over time. This is because many jurisdictions have introduced new data recording systems over recent years. This paper concludes that it is essential to develop an effective child protection surveillance data system. This will ensure that services are located in areas and targeted towards populations in greatest need. It will enable large-scale evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and intervention activities.