VIRTUAL DIVING IN DIGITAL DIVING

Those like me who barely master the "right click" will have a hard time! But for others, a new era is dawning thanks to computer tools: modeling, 3D, shared databases could well change our daily life as divers. Philippe CARREZ, from SubOceana, explains how, and takes stock of new possibilities.

WE ENTER A NEW ERA

Participatory sciences, virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive tools: the development of new technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is disrupting the representation, discovery and exploration of the seabed. Data collection, simulation, 3D modeling of underwater sites will have an undeniable impact on the way in which diving professionals, underwater tourism and scientists communicate with divers and the general public. In a few parts, we will take stock of the situation and present some tips for making your basic 3D model yourself.

 

AN ADVENTURE OF 25 YEARS

The first interactive video games appeared to the general public in 1974… It took 10 years for the first diving simulators to appear for training, such as “It's a Good Day to Dive (Philippe Carrez - 1986 on Atari STF), then in 1998 “Sirena” (Jean-Noël Morlet - 1998 on PC), HEPS the Virtual Diver (Suboceana - 2006 on PC and MAC) and PADI's Computer Diving SimulatorTM (Suboceana - 2009 on PC and MAC. In parallel to these tools simulation, several video games have been released, the most successful of which in terms of graphics are for example EverBlue (CapCom - 2002 on PlayStation) or EndlessOcean (Nitendo - 2007 on Wii). In 2011, a collective of designers (including the director of animations from the movie Avatar®) we set up the TheBlu project, the goal of which is to create and exchange 3D objects and environments online on the theme of the oceans.

THE REVOLUTION OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS

We are in 2012, and the last 5 have seen social networks or historical blogs of scuba diving grow alongside social networks, giving everyone the opportunity to share information online. FaceBook, Google+, Scuba People ... thousands of underwater photos and information are collected, exchanged and disseminated every day.

With these new networks, the user becomes the vector and the medium of communication, everything goes faster. It is on this observation that the collaborative platforms UnderseaLog and Oceanyd (Alain Dinis - 2007 on the web) have been set up, then more recently, the Cousteau Diver's project.

EVERY DIVER IS AN INFORMATION SENSOR

We are entering what we call participatory sciences: each diver becomes an information collector, and this information is collected and organized in international databases. The whole is fun while forming a tool of incredible power.

It is now possible for a diver or club to organize to collect data that will allow them to create the 3D model of their favorite sites, and then offer a virtual tour. Promotion of tourism, simulation, training, game, everything is possible.

We will propose you in the next parts some tracks which will allow you to launch the project at your place, without investment or new material ...

DISCOVER THE BLU EXCLUDED

Suboceana is a partner of TheBlu and offers you with scuba-people.com 500 invitations to discover the work of 3D designers from around the world.
Just go to http://theblu.com and use “suboceana” (without quotes) as INVITE CODE, then complete the other boxes with your personal information.
TheBlu is uniquely “Design” oriented, and suboceana's work in this project will be to find the bridges with the world of diving and to model sites with real environmental and bathymetric data.