Follow the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 3-D Over the Internet
EarthSLOT
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Website available at:
http://www.earthslot.org/iditarod/
Individuals from 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' Earth Science, Logistics, and Outreach
Terrainbases (EarthSLOT) website:
http://www.earthslot.org/iditarod/
The free resource 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
Corporation 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
For more information on EarthSLOT please contact:
Matt Nolan
Institute of Northern Engineering, at
Phone: 907-474-2467 or via
E-mail: matt.nolan [at] uaf.edu
or
Marmian Grimes
UAF Public Information Officer
Phone: 907-474-7902 or via
E-mail: marmian.grimes [at] uaf.edu
or go to:
http://www.earthslot.org