TOUCHTERRAIN: A SIMPLE WEB-TOOL FOR CREATING 3D-PRINTABLE TOPOGRAPHIC MODELS (Invited Presentation)

An open-source web-application, TouchTerrain, was developed to simplify the production of multi-tiled 3D-printable terrain models. Large 3D printed terrain models can help geoscientists, students, and stakeholders interact with terrain data and improve geoscience communication and environmental literacy.

3D printing can convert digital data into tangible objects quickly and at relatively low cost. However, creating the digital 3D terrain model to be printed is a complex task; knowledge of geographical information systems, computer aided design software, and 3D printers may all be required. Furthermore, the rather small build volume of a typical low-cost 3D limits the size of the model that can be printed.

The TouchTerrain web-application greatly simplifies the creating of digital terrain models for 3D printing. The user selects a region-of-interest (ROI) on the web-application’ Google Maps-style interface. Publically available digital elevation data is processed via the Google Earth Engine application programming interfacce and converted into digital model files that can then be printed. Even if not 3D printed, the digital terrain models can be manipulated on-screen as part of lesson plans or demonstrations.

To create physically large 3D terrain models, TouchTerrain splits the ROI into multiple tiles. Each of which can be printed and then glued together to form a large terrain model. Alternatively, they can be left unassembled and the student (or expert) can assemble them like a puzzle. TouchTerrain significantly reduces the time and skill required for a non-expert to produce tangible 3D terrain models.

The TouchTerrain web application is deployed at http://touchterrain.geol.iastate.edu, source code and installation instructions for running a server and a stand-alone version are available at https://github.com/ChHarding/TouchTerrain_for_CAGEO