Historically, scientists and naturalists collected specimens of animals from the wild to increase scientific understanding of their physiology and movements. Today, 3D models of animals can take the place of live or preserved animals to test theories on body shape and movement. Using photogrammetry, (the science of deriving measurements in 3D space using photographs) researchers scan live specimens in the field or the lab and then create 3D models, which essentially serve as “avatars” of actual specimens for scientific analysis.

Photogrammetry relies upon multiple photos of the subject at varying angles. From these photos the computer software generates a 3D mesh by finding similarities between the photos taken at different angles. By matching the patterns in each photo the software can triangulate the overlapping images and convert the pixels into points in 3D space. The point cloud data is then used to construct a polygon mesh. After an arduous process of cleaning up the “noise” or irregularities on the mesh, the original photos are projected onto the surface to create a color texture map.

Upwell partnered with The Digital Life Project and University of Massachusetts Amherst to create an open source 3D rendering of a hatchling leatherback sea turtle. The value of the rendering of real animals for science, conservation, education, virtual reality and storytelling should not be underestimated. Not only do these methods prevent mortality, they allow scientists to test theories on morphology and movement in a controlled environment. This model, and subsequent models from different age classes can teach us about sea turtle growth and help scientists refine modeled age-growth curves. They can also shed light on hydrodynamics, potentially enabling examination of the effects of instrumentation (e.g. electronic sensors) on sea turtle behavior.

This is an animation of a juvenile (straight minimum carapace length = 75.1 mm, mass = 72.8 g) Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) that was reconstructed from photos and measurements from a live individual. The turtle was collected by Jeanette Wyneken (Florida Atlantic University) for her research on leatherback ecology and development, and the model was created in collaboration with the Upwell Non-Profit (https://www.upwell.org/).

For more detailed information on the photogrammetry process, check out this paper by Duncan Irschick and Jeremy Bot.

Cover photo by Jim Abernethy for Upwell Turtles