This week we ramped up our efforts and conducted a project further investigating Autodesk's software, ReCap, and its viability to make high resolution 3D coral models (The more accurate technical term is 3D textured geometry). We are very interested in the novel ability to measure coral surface area.

This has the potential to revolutionize coral reef research and outreach.

Our massive team included:

Shaan Hurley (Technologist) and Pete Kelsey (Strategic Projects Executive) from Autodesk
Mikayla Wujec (CEO Concordia Sustainability Fund)
Andrea Reid (
Naomi Blinick (Photographer @ www.naomiblinick.com)
US NPS: Dr. Eric Brown (Marine Ecologist), Randall Watanuki (Boat mechanic), Scott Pawlowski (Chief of Cultural and Natural Resources at VALR) and myself (Marine Science Technician and Science Communicator Specialist) from the KALA US National Park Service.

In preparation for this project, we were featured twice in Shaan's blog, www.autodesk.blogs.com! In his posts he highlights some of our models and previous work. The full article can be found here and here.

We are very excited about the results, which are soon to come! Check back for more details!

Kalaupapa's 3D Corals