UAF tracks Iditarod in 3-D over Internet

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: (907) 474-7902
03/06/06

Mushing fans around the globe can track the progress of competitors in the 2006 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in near real time through the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ EarthSLOT Web site.

The free resource, at www.earthslot.org/iditarod/, allows users to view race status in three-dimensions, with high-resolution imagery draped over topography to yield a realistic, video-game-quality visualization. The site includes the Iditarod race route complete with checkpoints and updates of the mushers’ positions pulled from the official Iditarod database. The data are displayed using virtual globe browser software from Skyline Software Corp. and Google Earth, allowing both Windows and Macintosh connectivity. Non-interactive movies flying from checkpoint to checkpoint are also provided free of charge to the public and media.

Virtual globe applications are quickly becoming the new paradigm in earth science, earth science education and outreach, and earth science logistics and data access. New tools are easier to use, even on home computers.

The Iditarod-tracking program is a public service project, funded by the UAF Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, demonstrating the scientific and educational aspects of EarthSLOT, a three-dimensional visualization tool and resource developed by Matt Nolan, a professor with UAF’s Institute of Northern Engineering. EarthSLOT is intended as a major science integration and outreach tool, with base funding from the National Science Foundation. While following the Iditarod route, users will also find links to National Science Foundation projects in the Arctic. EarthSLOT also hosts a variety of other scientific and outreach applications using this technology, all available online at http://www.earthslot.org .

CONTACT: Matt Nolan, Institute of Northern Engineering, at (907) 474-2467 or via e-mail at matt.nolan@uaf.edu . UAF Public Information Officer Marmian Grimes at (907) 474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@uaf.edu .

ON THE WEB: http://www.earthslot.org