High-Level Project Summary
We developed a Web Application that generates a light-curve on the basis of the 3d model chosen by the user.The website accomplishes the primary task of plotting a light curve on the basis of shape of model and let's the user analyze important aspects of light curve that can change depending upon factors such as orientation of object in space, axis of rotation etc.The website is targeted towards scientists and space enthusiasts who want to study the properties of an object by generating a light curve of it, thus it plays a vital role in acting as an easy-to-use simulation tool that has high potential to contribute to research and our understanding of celestial and terrestrial objects.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
The web application we developed can be accessed here.
How to use the web app?
- The users upon entering the web application is provided with a couple of tools such as slider controls that can be used to set the orientation of light source and it's intensity in the asteroid display widget, rotation period and axis of rotation of the 3d model .
- The user is provided with two options to load a 3d model in the model display widget : Either select from a catalogue of 8 asteroids already available in the websiteOR upload a custom 3d model from the user's local drive.
- Once the 3d model is loaded into the widget, the user needs to input a Rotation Period(available under the Light Controls panel) and hit the play button to rotate the model 360 degrees on a specific axis of rotation.
- The above step generates the required data to plot the light curve. Upon hitting the Generate Light Curve button, a graph appears below the button.
Benefits of the web app
- It doesn't require very high-fi hardware requirements to run the light curve simulation. All that the users need is a modern computer with a good internet connection and a browser like Google Chrome.
- The users can easily generate light curve of a custom 3d model by uploading it to the website.
- The UI is very easy to use, hence it caters to audience from diverse backgrounds and not restricted to just scientists and engineers.
Tools utilized to make the app
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript to make the web application.
- Three.js to render 3d models on web.
- Miro and Figma for UI/UX prototyping
- GitHub Pages to host the web app.
Space Agency Data
NASA 3d Models Resource
We used 3d models of asteroids from NASA catalog of 3d models found here.
Why we used this resource?
The 3d models of asteroids were integrated with our web app to give the users a choice of selection from 8 type of asteroids so that they don't have to keep looking for models elsewhere and can get started with the Light Curve analysis right away.
Hackathon Journey
The space app hackathon challenge was an excellent learning experience for our team.
We chose this challenge because we wanted to develop an astronomy simulation tool. At the beginning of the project, we brainstormed with the team possible ideas, and once we identified some ideal solutions, we went straight into developing those concepts.
Ideas and sketches generated open discussions, which led us to develop a final product that helps celestial body observers examine the light curve of an asteroid, determined by its shape.
At first, the website was not responsive due to large widgets and several 3D rendering formats. Once we reduced the sizes of widgets and kept the 3D renderings to one format, we immensely increased the screen’s responsiveness.
References
Tags
#asteroid, #Trojans, #webapp, #simulation, #lightcurve
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.