Save Our Seas Foundation

Digital Tools for Ocean
Conservation

Developed under the projects

Essential Habitats for Smooth Hammerheads Mapping Critical Habitats of Threatened Shark Species in the Algarve Coast

This resource showcases how modern digital technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR) and sophisticated data visualisation, can help bridge complex movement ecology research and public outreach, enhancing the clarity, accessibility, and impact of scientific findings.

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Interactive 3D Models

Desktop

Click and drag to rotate. Scroll to zoom. Explore every angle of this juvenile hammerhead.

Mobile AR

Tap "View in AR" to place the shark in your space using your phone's camera.

3D assets are powerful tools for science communication, transforming ecological data into interactive and engaging visualisations. Open-source software, AI-based modelling tools, and online repositories now make producing, displaying, and sharing high-quality 3D content easier than ever.

  1. Conceptualise and Collect Data

    Start by defining what you want to communicate — whether it’s a species’ anatomy, behaviour, or habitat — and gather the necessary reference material or field data (e.g., simple photos, drones, photogrammetry, or sonar-based instruments).

  2. Create or Adapt Models

    Build, modify, or animate 3D assets using free and open-source platforms such as Blender, or other modelling tools. Ready-made 3D models are also available through repositories like Sketchfab, while novel AI-powered tools can automatically generate models from 2D images.

  3. Share and Explore

    Publish and embed interactive visualisations online using tools such as the <model-viewer> web component, which allows 3D assets to be displayed and explored directly in the browser. These interactive experiences help make marine research more accessible, engaging, and educational for diverse audiences.

Visualising Unseen Journeys

Beyond static 3D models, data-driven animations can bring ecological datasets to life — transforming numbers, tracks, and time series into dynamic visual stories. These animations help reveal patterns of movement, habitat use, and behaviour that might otherwise remain hidden in spreadsheets or maps.

Using programming environments such as R, researchers can generate sequential plots or maps that illustrate animal tracks, environmental changes, or temporal patterns. These frames can then be combined and rendered into smooth animations using video processing tools like FFmpeg, resulting in impactful visual content.

By turning raw data into motion, these visualisations make complex ecological processes more intuitive and engaging — helping researchers, policymakers, and the public better grasp the dynamics of marine life and ecosystems.

Example: reconstructed movement of tagged meagre (Argyrosomus regius) in the Iberian Peninsula.

Image-triggered AR experience

This example shows marker-based AR, where a physical object (like this scientific poster) acts as a trigger. By scanning the poster, a viewer can unlock a hidden digital layer — supplementary videos, 3D models, or data visualizations. This approach connects physical outreach materials directly to dynamic digital content, enriching events like scientific conferences or museum exhibits.

Scientific Poster AR Target Image

Scientific poster presented at the 8th International Biologging Symposium (Tokyo, Japan).

How to try it (Desktop):

  1. Scan the QR Code

    Use your phone's camera to scan this code. This will open the AR experience in your mobile browser.

    QR Code to launch AR experience
  2. Point at the Poster

    Once the camera feed opens, point your phone at the poster image on the left side of your screen.

  3. See the Poster Come to Life

    The poster will unlock a hidden digital layer, showing videos and 3D models directly on your screen.

How to try it (Mobile):

Tap the button below to launch the experience.

Launch AR Demo

After launching, you'll need to find the poster image (e.g., on another computer screen or a physical print-out) and point your camera at it.

This demonstration was built using MindAR, an open-source web-based augmented reality library that enables marker-based AR directly in web browsers without requiring dedicated apps.

The poster image serves as a natural feature tracker (image target), allowing the browser to recognize it and overlay digital content in real-time. This approach works best with larger-scale printed posters or markers, resulting in more stable AR experiences at conferences, exhibitions, or educational settings.

Translating Science Through Digital Media

Each example on this page follows three guiding principles for effective and responsible science communication in ocean research.

Science First

Every visualisation and AR model begins with solid scientific data. By grounding the work in rigorous movement ecology research, we can ensure that accessibility never comes at the expense of scientific accuracy.

Engagement Through Interactivity

Interactive digital tools can transform how we experience ecological data. Whether through Augmented Reality (AR) or animated data-driven visuals, our goal is to make the underlying science more engaging, interpretable, and memorable.

Open and Reproducible

All materials are created using open-source tools — from spatial analyses in R to 3D modelling in Blender and browser-based WebXR frameworks. This promotes reproducibility and broader collaboration across the marine science community.

Explore the Full Projects

Learn more about our projects on the nursery habitats, spatial ecology, and conservation of smooth hammerhead and blue sharks, and the methodologies behind this work.

Visit SOSF Project Page VISIT FAM PROJECT PAGE