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What is the Aves 3D website?
How can I use the Aves 3D website?
Why are some bones that are listed on the website not available for download?
What are the rules of use and copyright for the digital files on Aves 3D?
How can I contribute with the Aves 3D database?
How are scans made?
Aves 3D is an online database with three-dimensional digital models of the many different bones that make up the skeleton of birds. The models available on Aves 3D are created through non-contact laser surface scanning of skeletons, which provides accurate digital models of the bones; these scans can be used for a variety of educational and research purposes. Scanning is done by students and researchers of the Claessens laboratory at the College of the Holy Cross, as well as on location at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, and other institutions. The Aves 3D database project is funded by the National Science Foundation, and is a collaboration between the College of the Holy Cross, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Peabody Museum of Natural History.
We strive to serve both the lay and professional communities, and provide resources for both education and scientific research. Visitors to the Aves 3D website can use and interact with the database in a variety of ways. Visitors can search or browse the Aves 3D database using a bird’s common and scientific name, specific skeletal element, or via a diagram of evolutionary relationships. Interactive 3D (Java applet-based) models of bones can be manipulated in a web browser without the need for additional plug-ins or specialized software. In addition, museum specimen and scan data, downloadable full resolution 3D models, photographs of the skeletal specimens, and links to related information are available. Access to downloads requires the creation of a (free) user account that allows us to monitor database use, which is important for future database development.
Researchers can use the digital models available on Aves 3D for a wide variety of scientific research, including comparative and functional morphological studies, phylogenetic systematics, and taxonomic identification. The full resolution 3D digital models are in a format ready for a wide range of computational applications, without the need for time-consuming laser surface scanning or specialist equipment. The 3D models also provide a method of digital curation of rare or fragile specimens, as well as rapid global dissemination of biological data. Finally, we hope that the Aves 3D site provides a portal where one can enjoy the beauty and complexity of avian morphology and biology. We plan to continually expand the database holdings, as well as provide an expanding set of lesson plans and analytical tools.
The ultimate goal of the Aves 3D database is to make most elements in the database available for free download, but there are several reasons why some elements may not (yet) be available. In some cases, especially with very rare specimens, the institutions that have allowed us to generate 3D scans would like to maintain control over the number of times, and purposes for which, a model is distributed. This is accomplished by requiring individual authorization for each download. Also, the generation of 3D models is a slow and time-consuming process. Since most 3D models are generated with specific research questions in mind, the researchers responsible for scan generation may request that we do not make the models that they generated available for free download until their research projects have been finalized. By monitoring requests for access for specific elements, museums and researchers have control over the distribution of their models, which helps to avoid copyright violations or research conflicts. If a model is not available online for free download, we advise you to contact the detailing the requested use of the model.
All digital models, photographs and specimen data on Aves 3D are made available for educational and research purposes. Copyright of these files resides with the institutions that curate the specimens and Aves 3D. Except where noted otherwise, all files available on Aves 3D may be used for non-commercial educational and research purposes, provided that credit is given to the institution holding the specimen and Aves 3D. For questions regarding educational, research, or commercial use of Aves 3D files, please contact the .
Growth of the digital holdings of the Aves 3D database is fueled by a diversity of research projects, including avian ecomorphology, systematics, and geometric morphometrics. Undergraduate student research features prominently in scan generation, database expansion, and scientific analysis. We are always interested in research collaborations that use existing Aves 3D data, as well as projects that require the generation of newly scanned skeletal material for the Aves 3D database or present analytical methodological advances. We encourage you to contact the with concrete ideas or proposals.
Three-dimensional digital scans are made using non-contact laser surface scanning of skeletal material. We currently employ a Roland LPX 1200 and a Konica Minolta Range 7 red light laser scanner, and we are testing the DAVID laserscanner system for potential use in skeletal scan generation. The creation of a single scan shell of a skeletal object can take hours (LPX 1200) to seconds (Range 7), depending on the level of resolution used. The most time-consuming steps in scan generation are the merging of different scan shells into a single model, and the removal of scanner “noise” from the model. Most models available in the database represent at least 8 hours of work, and, depending on the size and complexity of the object, may have taken much more effort. We use the software package Rapidform™ for scan editing and Wirefusion™ for creating Java applets for the website. Detailed scanning protocols will be made available on this website in the future.
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