Immersive Geoscience

We are excited to announce that the 3^rd Virtual Geoscience Conference (VGC) will be held in the beautiful limestone city, Kingston, Canada, August 22-24, 2018. The 3rd VGC will again provide a meeting place for researchers, government, and industry members at the forefront of innovative research and development in close range remote sensing and computer visualization applied to the geosciences. The conference will highlight technological advancements and the latest applications of geomatics and visualization tools to a broad range of geoscience problems.

The conference theme is all about multidisciplinary collaboration at the intersection of geomatics, visualization, computer vision, graphics and gaming, as well as virtual and augmented reality with applications to a range of geoscience subfields, such as geological mapping, geomorphology, geohazards, glaciology, volcanology, tunnelling, and mining.

Virtual Geoscience tools have impacted geoscience research, practice, and education. Geoscientists are increasingly using 3D geological models in favor of 2D GIS maps to better understand and model the scale and scope of projects, to communicate complex geology and engineering designs to clients and to easily inform the public on the impact of infrastructure or mining activities on their community. Tools like augmented and virtual reality are allowing new modes of interaction and with geoscience that are immersive and intuitive to a wide range audiences. Recently, the use of powerful game engines has converged with geoscience research offering exciting geological process modelling opportunities.  Additionally, an increasing number of close range remote sensing tools are being used to generate 3D geological models and to monitor geological processes. There are many close range techniques and a wide range of platforms allowing geology to be mapped and monitored at increasingly high spatial and temporal scales. With the increasing number of close range tools and the growth of computer visualization tools, it is of great benefit to meet and discuss the latest developments and applications.

The first two VGC conferences, held in Switzerland followed by Norway, focused on developments and applications of close range remote sensing techniques to a broad range of geoscience research including inputs to geological modelling and have brought together researchers and practitioners interested in a novel 3D technologies. The purpose of the third conference is to again offer a multidisciplinary forum for discussing the latest developments in geomatics tools and visualization in the geosciences.