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Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about its geology (outcrop.rocks)
185 points by headsupernova •                         
I've been working on a fun little app that paints geologic maps over landscapes using augmented reality. You can use it to identify what the mapped rocks are, read descriptions about them, and view the earth as it looked when they formed by turning back the continent positions. It spun out of some augmented reality work I was doing on my other side project app - Flyover Country, which tells you about the view from the airplane window.

I'm in Minnesota, so i haven't had a chance to test it on a huge amount of terrain (the best I've found is the Mississippi River gorge in the twin cities... I need a trip up north), so anyone that's somewhere with some more bumps: please help!).

It's stuck in the Apple review queue, but it's up on testflight for anyone interested. Google approved it quickly and it's fully out on android (links to both on the marketing site).

edit: got a report that testflight was asking for an install code. Seems like a testflight app issue, but dismissing it and installing as normal seems to work!

tomshafer •                         
Neat idea. Does it work offline? Up north there's often no signal, and I'd guess phone compass drift near steel bridges or cliffs would throw the overlay off too.
_Microft •                         
„The map and Live then work with no signal. Fossil finds and Live’s active faults still need a connection.“
gus_massa •                         
Is there a web version? I don't like to install apps if avoidable.

When the page loads, it shows a blinking animation [1]. I didn't realize it was a loading an interactive background example. Perhaps load a default photo of the grand canyons and add a clock or something until the full version loads.

[1] In my phone in the subway, not a very good WiFi nearby.

headsupernova •                         
been thinking of trying a web version! the AR stuff might be tough (I'm relying on ARcore/ARKit a lot) but I think all the pieces are there to make it possible. Good call on the image fallback! The 3d demos are probably heavier than they should be for a landing page hero...
RobotToaster •                         
Whenever I try live view I get "tracking did not start. Try again" on android
headsupernova •                         
oof sorry, thanks for reporting! I've got a limited set of phones to test on so this is super helpful. What is your device/android version?
RobotToaster •                         
It's a old Doogee v31gt running android 13

Edit: It looks to be my phone, I just tried it again and it says "This phone can't do the motion tracking Live needs"

naftalibeder •                         
Very well done. The animation of plate movements give me a real sense of vertigo! Earth is old. o__O

For me at least, it would feel more intuitive to have the distant past on the left and the current date on the right. I'd also love an option to keep the current location centered while manually dragging the slider.

EDIT: Also, could optionally overlay lat/lon lines to help anchor the globe as it rotates? It's hard to understand the plate movements relative to the Earth.

headsupernova •                         
oh interesting yeah I was trying to keep the time direction consistent with the squiggle graphic in the main sheet, but I can see how it would read backwards! Maybe I should flip them in both spots.
chamomeal •                         
No WAY I have wanted this exact thing all for years!!! I am so stoked to try this out later. This is so sick.

Got the test flight version installed no problem!

headsupernova •                         
send some screenshots my way when you try it outside!
timothevs •                         
This is really well done! My 9-year-old and I have been going down the rabbit hole for the last 2 hours. We simply love the ‘Where it formed’ feature. Great job!
headsupernova •                         
wow this is so delightful to read!! glad you two are enjoying it!
lightedman •                         
This would be insanely awesome if I could add a data layer or two atop the geologic unit map. This combined with processed ASTER and LANDAST data overlaying the geologic units would make surficial mineralogy so much more exciting when you're out in the field.
headsupernova •                         
hadn't seen ASTER data before this! looks like some really cool data! I'll look into adding it for sure
lightedman •                         
The processed stuff is what you want, northwest and southwest, AA12. Best thing to do is knock out the dead data layers (I think those were 48-50) and knock out I think band 14 (green vegetation layer) so all you get are the properly-identified signals. Ditto LANDSAT 8 (iron sulfate processed data.)

I suggest making it possible to support and import these sorts of data layers instead of including them as they do get very, very large. Leave it up to the user to slap them in and toggle them on/off on their own.

This would make it an instantly-valuable tool for professional, hobbyist, and studying geologists.

EDIT: https://imgur.com/a/fYf83hw Like this sort of processed data overlaid on top of the geologic units (with legend) would be so insanely helpful.

assimpleaspossi •                         
I don't see it on the Play Store for my Pixel 11. There are two marked "Outcrop" but not by these people.
headsupernova •                         
bummer that it's not coming up in search for you. Here's a link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=rocks.outcrop....
assimpleaspossi •                         
Thanks. That worked.
tectonic •                         
This is very cool! Great use of augmented reality. Now have a narration mode that gives you LLM-based Roadside Geology explanations of what you’re seeing as you drive.
headsupernova •                         
Somebody else is working on exactly that! check out Backseat Geologist
ballen •                         
Very cool. Really like having the soils and quaternary layers for those us in the Midwest without a lot of bedrock exposure.
headsupernova •                         
there are so many cool glacial stories (and more!) in the midwest! I'm trying to sort out how to better tell them in the app based on the available data.
tamimio •                         
This is very interesting!! I just pointed at a landscape from a high ground and it said this river was formed around 460million years ago! Which it seems is that old in earth’s life!
headsupernova •                         
it's more that the rocks underlying the river are that old! I wonder how I can make this distinction more clear.
headsupernova •                         
Shameless other project plug: if you have a flight coming up and are a window seat fan please try out https://flyovercountry.app ! it has a similar augmented reality view so you can figure out what you're seeing out the airplane window (and a bunch of other fun features)
Aeroi •                         
atleast re-write your subheading "each rock named" most ai smelling shite ever.
headsupernova •                         
fair enough
seabass •                         
It's always so disappointing. This looks genuinely cool, soured by all the little ai artifacts that get hard to look past, like "the circle names what it rests on".
headsupernova •                         
please keep listing these examples out it's genuinely helpful to hear what rings poorly to people. I've been focused on the app build in my spare time and don't have a ton of experience with marketing so the copy is def a relative afterthought and leans sloppy for sure.
throwaway219450 •                         
If you build anything with AI that is meant to be read by anyone other than AI, assume you need to review and rewrite all the copy. No need to be a marketing person, just read what the models produce and question if it’s understandable. The bar is frankly pretty low.

“Names” is a particularly obvious one. “Pick a rock and the land keeps it in color, the rest gone grey.”. And a big bugbear of mine are sentences like this “The map lights the places it’s mapped” - why is the map the actor in the sentence? Just put: “Places are highlighted on the map”.

hsparikh •                         
This is timely. I am on my way to the Grand Canyon today. Will install and give it a go with my son. I think he will be excited.
headsupernova •                         
oh man a screenshot of the live view on the Canyon would make my day!! please send one over (shane @t flyovercountry.app). Fingers crossed it works for you!
hsparikh •                         
Alas - heavy rainfall and flash floods across northern and central AZ today, so we had to postpone. Will let you know.
nsilvestri •                         
Very cool. Does this mean any chance AR features are coming to Flyover Country? I've used that app for years, but matching what I see onto the map is the trickiest part.
headsupernova •                         
They're in there already (as of a month or so ago)! I'm really excited about AR in Flyover. Especially interested to hear your feedback on the new version having used it for so long!
thingfyi •                         
Very cool project! I also wonder if a web version is plausible. Are there any specific native app features in it?
headsupernova •                         
the AR stuff leans heavily on ARkit and ARCore APIs but I think similar things are possible with web apis.
hailwood1965 •                         
I hope to one day try it. I'm an hour south of Mpls. It would be interesting to use it on one of those super-deep gravel pits in rural Goodhue where one can see ten stories of earth. Good luck.
xaviermts •                         
US only?
StepWeiwu •                         
Super cool, congrats! I've played around with the android app, works great and it's really interesting!