What I'm Learning in College

DwnWthVwls · 10-21-2016, 08:43 PM

I didn't know where to put this, but I figured Plankton and a few others might have some interest in it. It's easier to explain with pictures than saying Foresty/Geospatial Analysis..

Soooooooooooo... This is Quick Terrain Modeler(QTM):

This is a point cloud. It was created by an airplane flying over a portion of Atlantic City, NJ and using LiDAR technology to scan the terrain. Each individual dot/point you see represents a point where the laser scan bounced off the terrain and returned to the LiDAR unit as a recording.

After uploading the point cloud into QTM, I opened it as a gridded modeled which creates a smooth terrain based on all the points collected. Here is the very same area after the process is complete:

Next, I overlayed some texture files to make it look better, and I added a file which overlays the evacuation route for floods (see red line). The blue you see is the water level from playing with the "Flood Analysis" tool. In this picture I set the water level to 3ft of flooding. If you can't tell this is an image of a residential area.

Here is what the area would look like under 10 ft of water...

This was the first project I completed for my LiDAR class. We had to do a flood analysis of the Atlantic City area, and make pretend recommendations to the officials determining when it was safe for people to evacuate versus when it was too late and they had to get to higher ground. When I get out in the real world, I hope to use this technology, along side another program called ArcMap, to solve problems and study the forests. It's a nice mix of getting out into the wilderness to physically do the laser scanning and sitting behind a desk doing computer work.

I don't really want this thread to be about me, so if anyone else has interesting things they've done in college or as a career, that'd be cool.

Key · 10-21-2016, 09:00 PM

This isn't the porn I expected.

Lucem Ferre · 10-21-2016, 09:22 PM

3D Programming is a pain in the ass.

grindy · 10-22-2016, 12:52 AM

I don't remember anything really interesting from college.

Mindy · 10-22-2016, 04:20 AM

that looks cool. im trying to learn python right now but only basic stuff right now
kind of looks like sim city

Plankton · 10-22-2016, 07:22 AM

Very cool! I've used some of AutoCAD's Civil 3D with the terrain modeling and point clouds. It's been a long time though.

River and flood analysis | AutoCAD Civil 3D Features

I do mostly structural/mechanical design these days for fire training structures, but I do have to create foundation layouts to set them on, which requires soil analysis, and some grading topo stuff. I don't need to get as in depth for it as what you're doing here though, so through the past 10 years or so the civil side of things has passed me by.

What is this class called? What type of degree?

Edit: Just saw the rest of your post. LiDAR - Never heard of it, but that's pretty awesome.

DwnWthVwls · 10-22-2016, 08:42 AM

I am actually getting a BS of Environmental Science, but these GIS(Geographic Information System) type courses are electives within my degree, and I can get a certificate for it. If I wanted to continue into grad school with it, it would be Geospatial Analysis, which includes stuff like remote sensing, LiDAR, spatial statistics, GPS, topography, etc...

I remember you posting pictures of a completed building you had designed and bringing up the CAD work. CAD files are compatible with ArcMap, which is a 2d GIS analysis tool and what the certificate program mainly focuses on.

This is all incredibly entry level stuff I'm doing. It looks fancy, but it's really only a couple buttons and basic tool functions. It's exciting to learn though.

@Nathan - I have to learn Python for this stuff eventually. Is it complicated? I've only ever done entry level Qbasic.

Mindy · 10-29-2016, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwnWthVwls

I am actually getting a BS of Environmental Science, but these GIS(Geographic Information System) type courses are electives within my degree, and I can get a certificate for it. If I wanted to continue into grad school with it, it would be Geospatial Analysis, which includes stuff like remote sensing, LiDAR, spatial statistics, GPS, topography, etc...

I remember you posting pictures of a completed building you had designed and bringing up the CAD work. CAD files are compatible with ArcMap, which is a 2d GIS analysis tool and what the certificate program mainly focuses on.

This is all incredibly entry level stuff I'm doing. It looks fancy, but it's really only a couple buttons and basic tool functions. It's exciting to learn though.

@Nathan - I have to learn Python for this stuff eventually. Is it complicated? I've only ever done entry level Qbasic.

it started out easy, its starting to get harder now. im using codeacademy and youtube videos. the khan academy videos are easy. the mit lecutures are boring. i guess it all depends on how much time ya spend doing it

at learning the cadd stuff. i learned the basics of that in high school but didnt do much with it afterwards

Tristan_Geoff · 10-29-2016, 08:56 AM

I'm going for Film Studies with a Digital Media minor but what I really want to do is Music Production, though the only place that offers that in NC is twice as expensive as the college I was gonna go to, so looks like I'm gonna have to learn through Film and Digital Media. Aight.

DwnWthVwls · 05-01-2017, 03:45 PM

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10-22-2016, 12:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	I don't remember anything really interesting from college. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

10-22-2016, 07:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	Very cool! I've used some of AutoCAD's Civil 3D with the terrain modeling and point clouds. It's been a long time though. River and flood analysis \| AutoCAD Civil 3D Features I do mostly structural/mechanical design these days for fire training structures, but I do have to create foundation layouts to set them on, which requires soil analysis, and some grading topo stuff. I don't need to get as in depth for it as what you're doing here though, so through the past 10 years or so the civil side of things has passed me by. What is this class called? What type of degree? Edit: Just saw the rest of your post. LiDAR - Never heard of it, but that's pretty awesome. __________________ See location...

10-21-2016, 09:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	This isn't the porn I expected.

10-21-2016, 09:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lucem Ferre Cuter Than Post Malone. Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 4,978	3D Programming is a pain in the ass.

10-22-2016, 04:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
Mindy ask me about cosmology Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Milky Way Galaxy Posts: 8,991	that looks cool. im trying to learn python right now but only basic stuff right now kind of looks like sim city