3D scan of a Megalosauropus broomensis footprint, Western Australia (Romilio et al 2017)
In the previous post, advances in 3D imaging in paleontological research were examined from the perspective of the origins of laser scanning technology. In the 20 years following its inception, the laser scanning of fossils was focused on evolving and improving the means of laser scanning and 3D imaging fossils. In this post, we look at how the 3D image capturing process - now technically quite sophisticated - has achieved sufficient success that researchers are free to focus on innovations in applying the 3D imaging process in novel new ways.
Of particular interest is the recent merging of 3D image capturing with flying drone aircraft. This process involves the use of remote controlled drones to carry out laser-scanning operations of fossils in remote locations, in some cases too inaccessible to accomplish in-person.
The "fossils" in question are fossil footprints, or trackways, of dinosaurs and other creatures, found in large numbers along the northwest coast of Australia.
Along the red cliffs of the Kimberley region of Australia, hundreds of footprints have been discovered. The three toed, birdlike prints of bi-pedal theropods and elephantine impressions of giant quadrupedal sauropods are represented, as well as other animal groups. The trackways are imbedded in rocks dated to 130 million years ago, when Australia was part of the early Cretaceous landscape of the supercontinent of Gondwana, as it began splitting into the modern continents of Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia.
Today, the cliffs are being chiseled away by the relentlessly pounding waves of the Indian Ocean. Not only does the remote location pose an obstacle to laser scanning the fossil site, but the tenuous proximity to the ocean creates an urgency to digitally documenting the trackways before they are lost forever.
There's no need to fear: the flying drones are here. In a brilliant convergence of necessity, researchers have devised a plan to map the trackways in their entirety with high-resolution photography and laser-mounted remotely-guided drones for the most inaccessible areas, while using specialized hand-held portable scanners for more accessible portions. Lidar, a common method of using lasers to map geograhical terrain for commercial and research purposes, was utilized here to measure the shape and depth of the foot impressions.
The team, led by Anthony Romilio of the Vertebrate Palaeontology and Biomechanics Lab at the University of Queensland, created duplicate 3D models of the track sites via use of the drones, as well as manned light aircraft and ground-based reconnaissance. The recovered 3D data permanently archives the footprints in pixel-perfect three dimensional relief, and can be adapted for display and research purposes, as needed.
No new technology was created in this project. Flying drone aircraft, laser scanning and digital 3D modeling are all previously existing technologies. What is new is the coordinated application of these technologies toward resolving unique problems.
Anthony Romilio and his team digitally rescued and saved over 70 remote trackway sites at risk of destruction via their innovative, high-tech solution to the environmental challenges of accessing and mapping the coastal footprints. This ground-breaking application of already-existing technology is a procedural breakthrough that surely will be adapted for use by other researchers in the future.
Romilio's team published their digital approach in the journal PeerJ in March, 2017.
