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NC STATE UNIVERSITY. Katja Seltmann, Babi Hammond, Matthew Bertone, Jane Greenberg, and Andrew R. Deans. GigaPan megapixel imaging and best practices for digitizing entomological collections. NCSU Insect Museum, North Carolina State University
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NC STATE UNIVERSITY Katja Seltmann, Babi Hammond, Matthew Bertone, Jane Greenberg, and Andrew R. Deans GigaPan megapixel imaging and best practices for digitizing entomological collections NCSU Insect Museum, North Carolina State University Metadata Research Center/SILS/University North Carolina, Chapel Hill Entomological Collections Network Meeting Reno, 2011
[Outline] • Part 1: Whole drawer imaging & GigaPan at NCSU Insect Museum • Part 2: Benchmarking Efforts
[NCSU Insect Museum] • Founded in 1952 • Past/present researchers: • Historically: Z.P. Metcalf (Auchenorrhyncha), C.S. Brimley (NC insects), T.B. Mitchell (Anthophila), C.F. Smith (Aphididae), M.H. Farrier (Acari), D.A. Young (Auchenorrhyncha), H.H. Neunzig (Pyraloidea), L.L. Deitz (Auchenorrhyncha) • Currently: A.R. Deans (Hymenoptera) & B.M. Wiegmann (Diptera) • Head Curator: Bob Blinn • Currently one of the two largest insect collections in the Southeast US (~1.4 million)
[The Concept] • A high-quality image for each drawer in the collection • “Virtual Museum”
[GigaPan] • Robot developed for Mars rover • NASA + CMU • Commercially = robot plus software • Robot takes multiple images using standard camera • Software stitches images • GigaPan website GigaPan Epic 100 with camera
[GigaPan: Components] OUR SETUP: • GigaPan Epic 100 • Canon G11 • Copy stand • Continuous fluorescent daylight lamps • Power supplies for GigaPan and Canon $450.00 $500.00 $100.00 $500.00 $100.00 $1,000 ~$1,650.00 http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/
[GigaPan: People] Costs: • 10 minutes per GigaPan • $2 dollars a drawer • 2500 drawers ~$5,000 http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/
[GigaPan: Total] <$10,000! for 2,500 drawers a great success http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/
zoom tools panorama snapshots w/comments explore score geo-reference panorama info panorama comments
[GigaPan: Methods] • http://blog.insectmuseum.org/?tag=gigapan • Bertone and Deans + Gigpan
[Results] • So far NCSU Insect Museum (ID 23796) has 1783 panoramas • Most panoramas of any user so far • Major effort began in June 2010 • Expect to finish in the Spring • Panoramas average 0.2 gigapixels (200 mp) • http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/ • Remote annotation & increased interaction with the collection http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/
[Results] • Juried gallery winner • Fine Conference on Gigapixel Imaging • Work highlighted by: • Science Magazine • New Scientist • Wired • National Geographic • Others... • One Panorama has 23,292 views so far • 181,019 Total Views
[Realized & Potential Issues] • Dynamic collection • Only one view of specimens* • Resolution of small specimens • Large specimens obscure labels* • Parallax/distortion • Accommodating larger drawers • Hosting & annotation capabilities limited using GigaPan website • Poor marketers Issues are all future opportunities *may not be alleviated by any system
[Realized & Potential Outcomes] • Remote identification • Curatorial advice* • Non-expert/public engagement • Better informed donations* • Better informed requests • Megapixel imaging for other purposes • Linking of specimens to habitat panoramas* • Micro images & remote taxonomy Outcomes are all future opportunities *unanticipated
“Lots of hairs” “Not much here (a bit abstract)”
[Part 2: Benchmarks] We have some ideas.. might even call them hypotheses… are we right? • Utility of whole drawer imaging of collections in contrast with other methods? • Most used websites? • What online collection data is deemed useful? • Who finds online images and collection data useful?
[information science] • No way of knowing if what we are doing is successful unless we benchmark and test that success • Define best practices by first discovering how the community actual uses collections • Partnered with Babi Hammond at UNC, Chapel Hill • CollectionsWeb RCN • Developed a survey to establish these benchmarks http://tinyurl.com/625xeb9 6…2…5…xeb...9
[Help!] Promoting our survey to help us determine present best practices for digitizing entomological collections http://tinyurl.com/625xeb9 6…2…5…xeb...9
[preliminary results] • 90 participants • Majority taxonomists • Primarily faculty with PhD • Need help reaching a wider audience • Looking for entomologists worldwide • Please help by sending survey through internal lists
[benchmark] “Which online presentations are successful?”
[benchmark] (results so far: tiny significance)
[follow up action?] “Which online presentations are successful?”
[benchmark survey] • Finish survey in the Spring • Babi’s thesis work will be published • Want more participants • Need to make it a habit to include the science of information in our future projects; inexpensive to include them 6…2…5…xeb...9
National Science Foundation DBI-0847924 CollectionsWeb RCN Metadata Research Center /SILS/University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Istvan Miko, & Matthew Yoder Kelly Dew, Tanner Stanfield, Lydia Abernethy, & Bob Blinn Mary Jo Daines (CREATE) Randy Sargent (NASA-Ames) Steve Denning (NCSU) GigaPan Community http://tinyurl.com/625xeb9 http://www.gigapan.org/profiles/23796/ NC STATE UNIVERSITY [Acknowledgments]