Launching “From Bones to Data” Project

I am excited to be approaching the end of this project for the semester, but it is far from over!
I am launching “From Bones to Data”, my final project for the CHI Fellowship. From Bones to Data is a website that allows interactive 3D models of bone for students in forensic, bioarchaeology, or osteology classes to practice taking postcranial measurement digitally when they may not have direct access to donor remains or equipment.

My goals for building this project is twofold. My primary goal from reading academic literature that discusses intra- and inter- observer error, in many aspects of research, but focuses mostly on post cranial measurements. This allows students to not only have access at their fingertips to practice measurements, but to also consider academic literature which analyzes ethics and research errors.
My secondary goal was to challenge myself. I applied for this fellowship to reignite an old practice of coding, however, I also wanted to learn how to implement digitization into research. From Bones to Data accomplishes both of these goals with 1) the completion of a functional website and 2) the practice of coding language as well as the introduction of Artec Studio 16 and Blender to make the 3D models.

This website was built using a free Bootstrap download, with additional code (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) built on top to construct certain aspects of the webpage that were not included in the initial download. Surprisingly, the coding was one of the easier parts of building this website, however, I still had moments when I encountered problems, such as my leaflet map, the footer, and getting my navigation bar to work continuously (without crashing!).
The website includes an initial homepage, which briefly introduces the website and project with partners and contact form at the bottom. The main content of the webpage includes the models. There are six model pages with a primary landing page with service cards to link to each model. The individual model pages include the measurements for the corresponding bone and a model to match. Finally there is a map page which includes a map and pops up of academic articles, books, and court cases (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals 1993) and a reference page that provides information to connect students to such work.
The most challenging part of this project is (and remains) the models. Learning Artec 16 and Blender were not simple feats. I took scans of individuals bones, then used the Artec 16 program to construct 3D meshes for the bones. Each model was housed on SketchFab. The use of Blender was implemented in taking measurements of the bones to plug into the code so that a measurement feature could be added to the models.

Overall, I learned a enjoy building up my coding languages again and learning two new programs for digitization. This project is far from over and I hope to continue to work on it, providing scans that offer differ aspects to measure as well as additional bones (such as the fibula and femur). I look forward to seeing how this webpage grows in the future and receiving feedback on aspects that work and do not work on the site.
I want to thank the CHI fellowship for the opportunity to learn these programs, LEADR for housing us each week, and Aubree Marshall for her help in learning the Artec 16 Program.