System to
facilitate the mapping and visualisation of glaciers using of GPS data
By
John Cooke
Project supervisor
Roger Braithwaite
17/12/2002
Table of Contents
Appendix A: Final Report contents list
Functional requirements of the system
Choice of visualisation method
Development of a system to handle easting, northing and altitude data for the surface of a glacier and to generate a terrain model and/or visualisation. In the test dataset there are two surveys from successive years, so changes will also be investigated between years.
A program capable of the visualisation of a set of coordinates and height data for a given set of GPS data. Associated documentation will support the computing artefact. The program should also have the functionality to either export the data for use in a GIS system or be capable of calculating changes in volume between the visualised objects.
The main activities in this project are:
The test data for the project exists in the form of two Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
I hope to use the object-orientated approach to develop the system, as it offers a better path between the design and implementation than other models. Object orientation requires the use of object orientated tools and I have not yet made a final decision on which tools I shall use.
The program is intended primarily for the Microsoft Windows platform, but I intend to use techniques that will allow the system to be ported to a variety of platforms, e.g. Linux/Unix.
The required resources will include material regarding glacial environments and literature on the programming languages I will be learning. Other requirements include compilers, programming tools, operating systems and computers.
The development of the system deepens and expands my knowledge in applying design techniques.
I hope to become fluent in new computer techniques, including the use of the OpenGL graphics environment and the C/C++ programming language. I will also be managing my own time and resources, so I hope to improve my project management skills as a result of this project.
I will also have the opportunity to expand my knowledge of glacial environments.
I will have to develop a method of turning the raw information comprising the global positioning data into a visualisation. This will involve understanding the nature of three-dimensional objects in OpenGL and C. Adjusting to new languages is always a challenge.
The total project time is around 200 hours, which equates to around 8 hours per week, after removing two weeks for Christmas holidays and two weeks for exams.
I have constructed a Time Chart displaying the major activities and their timings. This shows the timescale in days.
· Project start 18/10/02, duration 200 hours
o Terms of reference document starts 18/10/02, duration 8 hours
o Interim report starts 25/10/02, duration 49 hours
§ Feasibility study starts 25/10/02, duration 11 hours
§ Research starts 25/10/02, duration 22 hours
§ Completed interim report starts 15/11/02, duration 16 hours
o System development starts 08/11/02, duration 71 hours
§ Learning new languages starts 04/12/02, duration 30 hours
§ Design starts 18/11/02, duration 20 hours
§ Coding starts 10/02/03, duration 17 hours
§ Testing starts 25/03/03, duration 24 hours
o Final Report start 03/02/03, duration 46 hours
§ Tables of contents Start 03/02/03 duration 6 hours
§ Draft report Start 03/02/03 duration 14 hours
§ Final report Start 18/03/03 duration 26 hours
§ Prepare Presentation duration 6 hours
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Week
Ending |
20/10/2002 |
27/10/2002 |
03/11/2002 |
10/11/2002 |
17/11/2002 |
24/11/2002 |
01/12/2002 |
08/12/2002 |
15/12/2002 |
22/12/2002 |
26/01/2003 |
02/02/2003 |
09/02/2003 |
16/02/2003 |
23/02/2003 |
02/03/2003 |
09/03/2003 |
15/03/2003 |
23/03/2003 |
30/03/2003 |
06/04/2003 |
13/04/2003 |
20/04/2003 |
27/04/2003 |
02/05/2003 |
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Week |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
Total |
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TOR |
2 |
6 |
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