THE CHALLENGES OF USING FIELD COLLECTED GIGAPAN MICRO- AND MACRO-SIZED IMAGES TO CREATE ACCURATE 3D RENDERS AND MODELS

High-resolution panoramic images are useful tools to document geologic features at the macro and micro scales. Gigapans are becoming an affordable and dependable tool for high-resolution imagery. This project focused on variability and tests the accuracy and usefulness of the Gigapan Epic Pro in multiple settings throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Gigapan is equipped with an affordable Canon 7T crop sensor DLSR and a Canon 50MM F1.4 lens. Unlike other projects in which the Gigapan was challenged for a particular task, this project challenges the equipment with a variety of obstacles and is designed to present the successes, failures, and modifications needed to both software and hardware. Tests conducted were particularly designed to be strenuous on the algorithms used for Gigastitch, Gigapan’s image stitching software. This microscale experiment is used to test the Gigapan's ability to capture high-detail textural changes in the rock facies. These high-resolution images were reconstructed to scale into a 3D model. Autodesk 3DS Max was used to artificially render models based off the Gigapan images and a Monoprice Maker Select Plus 3D printer was used to print the model. Autodesk has long been used within the animation community, but its applications for geology are undiscovered. Artificial renders and prints provide a new view to understanding our current and past environments while keeping them preserved.