A new interactive tool in the Places and Flows Lab
The Tangible Landscape, an innovative tool now available in the Places and Flows Lab, was demonstrated on 27 March. It allows users to physically interact with a model of a landscape, making GIS and 3D modelling more intuitive. In other words: you can play with sand! The tool was tested using a model of Fort Sabina as part of the ongoing project Forts in Transition.
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A projection-augmented sandbox
What do polymer-enriched sand, coloured felt, a projector and GIS have in common? Tangible Landscape offers a unique and hands-on approach to interacting with geographic data, setting it apart from traditional GIS. By sculpting the polymer-enriched sand and reshaping the topography, users can directly influence the landscape and observe the effect on environmental processes. Depending on the intended outcomes, many processes can be simulated—such as water flow, vegetation effects, flood simulations, visitor movements in urban areas, and even agricultural impacts.
Open-source and interactive
This open-source interface, powered by GRASS GIS and Blender, couples a physical model with a digital one, enabling users to naturally feel, reshape, and interact with the landscape. This approach not only makes GIS and 3D modelling more approachable but also empowers geospatial experts to communicate complex environmental phenomena and opens up exciting opportunities for developers, such as integrating GIS into serious gaming.
Demonstration: Fort Sabina
The Tangible Landscape is currently used in Forts in Transition, a project led by Ondrej Mitas and the Tourism Impacts on Society research group. During the demonstration, Caitlin Haedrich presented a sand-sculpted model of Fort Sabina. Caitlin, a PhD student in Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University, was a guest researcher at BUas from 14 March to 8 April. The Fort model included an emotion map based on previous research, as well as a field-of-vision projection that could be modified by adjusting the sand.
Towards urban collaborations
“Looking ahead, it would be amazing to collaborate with a city to use the Tangible Landscape for visualising crowd movements during events,” says Caitlin. “This would support better crowd management and allow for more effective planning through simulation.”
About Places and Flows
Places and Flows is a cross-domain Research & Development/Design theme at BUas, bringing together knowledge and expertise from all academies. ‘Places’ refer to the physical environments where people live, work, play, and travel. ‘Flows’ encompass the movement of people, goods, services, and information. BUas focuses on flows related to leisure, tourism, and hospitality, and how they impact the places we live in.
For more information about Places and Flows, please contact Jeroen Klijs or Paul van de Coevering.
Want to know more? Check out the full article at tourism.buas.nl.
