Photogrammetry as a Tool to Build 3D Resources

Turning fragile specimens into immersive 3D models and durable replicas while expanding ethical, hands-on anatomy learning.

Details

Project Status: Complete

Type of Project: Leaching + Learning

Timeline: June 2024 – December 2025

Background

The Biology 204-Vertebrate Structure and Function course relies heavily on hands-on lab work with physical specimens (including skulls, dissections, and preserved animals) to communicate key concepts in comparative physiology. These specimens are integral to student learning, but they present several challenges: real specimens are fragile when handled, often difficult to source, and can raise ethical concerns. As a result, maintaining an adequately broad collection of specimens is an ongoing challenge.

Objective

This project uses photogrammetry to build an open-source repository of 3D virtual models and 3D-printed physical replicas based on the Department of Biology’s existing vertebrate collection. Working with UBCO’s Visualization and Emerging Media Studio (VEMS) and makerspaceUBCO, the project has two core goals. First, to produce interactive virtual models viewable at multiple scales in VEMS, enabling students to explore anatomical structures in detail in a way that is simply not possible with fragile real specimens. Second, create high-fidelity 3D-printed replicas that allow non-destructive deconstruction and exploration, giving students a tactile, hands-on learning experience with greater specimen diversity. The resulting digital specimens will be released as Open Educational Resources (OER), making them discoverable and reusable by other courses and institutions.

Team

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ken Savage, Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

Students:

  • Dhruv Bhardwaj (Unity Developer)
  • Rodrigo Lopez (Photogrammetry Modelling, Model Refinement)

Staff:

  • Mathew Vis-Dunbar, Data and Digital Scholarship Librarian
  • Courtnee Chulo, Manager, makerspaceUBCO
  • Joel Thiessen, Senior Emerging & Digital Media Specialist