1. Global 3D/4D Visualization Software:
Large GIS, Volumetric, & LiDAR Data
Duke Hartman
Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.
Duke.Hartman@Makai.com • (808) 259-8871 • http://Voyager.Makai.com

2. Who is Makai?
• Located on Oahu, Hawaii
• Est. 1973; ~29 persons
• Specialties:
– Submarine Cable
Planning & Installation
– OTEC / Deep Water Pipes
– Deep Water Marine Design
– Visualization Software
OTEC Cable Visualization
.

3. Makai Voyager Software
• Big goal: “Google Earth + Scientific Data”
• 3D/4D Scientific Visualization:
– Volume, flow, LIDAR, graphing, analysis, etc. with GIS backdrop.
• Developed over last 5 years with funding from:
– ONR (Office of Naval Research)
– CEROS (National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences)
– HTDV (Hawaii Technology Development Venture)
• Makai is starting to commercialize the software:
– http://voyager.makai.com
– Downloadable demo on Windows, Linux, Mac (150 Mb)
– Stream data from Makai servers.

4. Product Goals
Global geo-referenced Dynamic geo-referenced GIS (vector & raster data)
Imagery & Terrain/Bathy Iso-surfaces & Volumes & KML Objects
+ +
Multiple layers / fuse and analyze data Multi-variable data fusion & analysis > 150 different formats
 Common Operating Picture: advanced scientific
visualization, GIS, and graphing, into common view.
Global Geo-referenced View
 Speed: Operate on standard PC at interactive rates;
 Platform Independent: Windows, Linux, OSX;
 Large Data: Handle large volumetric grids (> 5123)
with multiple variables and with potentially
unlimited time-steps;
 Web-Enabled: Web-app for remote visualization.
Images + Terrain + Volume + Flow + Time

5. What’s the problem?
 First off: what is “4D”?
 3D volumetric data: x, y, z, with some
attribute (e.g., temperature, wind
speed, etc.)
2D: Each pixel is a data sample
 4D = 3D + time
 Displaying 4D data can be
challenging:
 Data and scene management
 Georeferencing
 Speed
 Status Quo? Volumetric data not
handled adequately by:
 Leading interactive 3D imagery/terrain
software (Google Earth)
 Leading GIS software (… you know
who)

6. Who Cares?
 Anyone dealing with complex 3D &
GIS data. This includes:
 Disaster Management
 Ocean / Earth / Atmosphere Science 2D: Each pixel is a data sample
 Geology / Mining / Oil & Gas
 Environmental / Hydro Engineers
 Military - Tactical Displays for
Situational Awareness
 GIS Professionals with complicated 3D
problems … hopefully you!

7. Technical Challenge
 Understanding large 4D data sets
 Traditionally visualized using single 2D layers
 Images & terrain are associated with pixels (X, Y
→ elevation/color) – i.e., 2D images
 4D data are associated with voxels (X, Y, Z, time
→ multiple variables)
2D VIEWS
3D VIEWS

8. Render, faster, better:
 Interactivity is achieved for very large data using:
 Data tiling for time-varying 2D and 3D data (similar to what GE does for terrain);
 Efficient compression algorithms;
 Accelerated GPU rendering; and,
 Multi-threading capabilities of modern processors.

9. Makai Voyager Main Screen
Tools
Drag-n-Drop Navigation
Interface Controls
Loaded
Data
3D View
Visualizations
Legends Mouse Coordinate
Simulation Clock / Status bar

10. What type of data can it handle?
 Imagery
 Terrain (Topos & Bathymetry)
 3D Objects
 LiDAR
 Typical GIS formats (150+)
 Web Maps
 Volumetric, iso-surface & time varying data
 Real-time streaming sensor & GPS data

11. Web Map Services (WMS)
 WMS streaming over internet (OpenStreetMaps data)
 US Navy ocean model - surface elevation data for ocean (with contours).

12. Disaster Modeling
 Tsunami, Hurricane, Earthquake, Flood, Fire Contamination Plume, etc.
 Tsunami model shows actual surface elevation – plot intersection with terrain
for inundation analysis.
Chile Tsunami, 2010
NOAA Tsunami Warning Center Data

13. Analysis Tools
 Triple slice graphs for simultaneous graphing of all major axes of a data set
 Measurement, probing, cropping, graphing, snapshot & movie export tools

14. Massive LiDAR
 Point clouds visualized using level-of-detail.
 Photo colored points or height coloring.

15. Data Fusion
 Georeferenced LiDAR city scan over WMS maps & terrain data

16. Hydrodynamic / Hydrological Plumes
 Hydro plume models such as outfalls, toxic waste, oil spills, etc.
 Realistic KML geometries, bathymetry, etc. for context.

17. Real-time Streaming of Sensor Data
 NOAA NDBC weather station observational data viewed in same 3D platform.
 Live streaming over the internet using WMS.

18. Web Application
 Program opens within web browser on low powered laptop, tablet (e.g. iPad)
 Server renders 3D visualizations, then sends images to client app.

19. Disaster Management
Processes, Integrates and
Visualizes Real-time Data
Sensors
Public
Data Streamed
GIS
• Legacy and real-time sensor data: (land, air,
underwater) in space & time in common view.
Situational
Feedback
• Increase surveillance efficiency: reduce op 3D
manpower – consolidate 2D flat views in a true 3D/4D Awareness Viewer
visual environment. For Field Units
• Data fusion from multi-sources: reducing
decision-making and response time.
• Open architecture: can be expanded and
customized easily.
• Simulation: threat situations for training of
emergency responders

20. Tactical Display: Integration with P3
 Anti-submarine warfare: In summer/fall 2010 Makai worked with Lockheed to
integrate 4D Visualization technology in the acoustic subsystem for the P3-C
Orion aircraft

21. Integrated acoustic propagation algorithms w/ 4D environmental data.
Application for ocean, but could easily be modified for land sound abatement analysis.

23. http://voyager.makai.com

24. Thank you!
Questions?
Duke Hartman
Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.
Duke.Hartman@Makai.com • (808) 259-8871
http://Voyager.Makai.com