Virtual pterosaurs: the use of surface laser scanning and three-dimensional computer modeling to create digital animation for museum research and exhibit

In the growing age of technology, museums and other research institutions are investigating the uses of virtual images for the study and preservation of their objects. In the realm of museum research, digitized images are easier to manipulate than the large or fixed items they may represent and their use reduces the need to handle and potentially harm valuable originals. Alternately, in the area of museum education, animation is a good way to inform the public by helping them visualize things that have no parallel in nature, such as extinct creatures. Further, the digitized skeletal detail is more accurate than that rendered by hand.

However, is it possible for smaller museums to produce accurate virtual images for their own use within their limited budgets and time frames? This project sought to produce a cost-effective, time saving model that would be within the realm of that attainable by smaller museums by utilizing available hardware and software that promised to enhance output while shortening production time. Cast skeletons of Quetzalcoatlus and Anhanguera were scanned using a surface laser scanner to capture a point cloud. This data was registered together to form three-dimensional point models which were converted into three-dimensional polygonal meshes for modeling and animation. Creation of inverse kinematic (IK) chains allowed for range of motion limitations to be applied thereby facilitating manipulation for detailed study.

While the technique offers a promising alternative to expensive CT scans and potentially damaging stylus digitizers, one must consider the size-limitations of the equipment, access to hardware and software, time constraints on the project and the learning curve of the design team before selecting the method appropriate to the project. While the results were satisfactory for exhibit purposes and scanners are capable of capturing minute detail, until computer hardware power increases, the level of detail that can be stored and shared by institutions will remain limited. In the end, this technology offers a promising alternative to traditional methods of biomechanical research and data storage and affords the opportunity for attractive in-house exhibits, saved in the format of choice and specific to institutional research