Structural State Vector Extraction from ecoSPLAT Gaussian Splat Reconstructions

@techreport{hamilton2026structural, author = {Hamilton, Michael P., Ph.D.}, title = {Structural State Vector Extraction from ecoSPLAT Gaussian Splat Reconstructions}, institution = {Canemah Nature Laboratory}, year = {2026}, number = {CNL-TN-2026-033}, month = {march}, url = {https://canemah.org/archive/document.php?id=CNL-TN-2026-033}, abstract = {This technical note describes the development and preliminary validation of a structural characterization method for 360° panoramic field station archives. Gaussian splat point clouds generated by the SHARP monocular reconstruction pipeline within the ecoSLAM/MacroscopeVR system are analyzed using a 10-parameter structural state vector capturing spatial geometry (linearity, planarity, sphericity, verticality, anisotropy) and radiometric character (green fraction, hue entropy, red-to-green ratio, brightness mean, saturation standard deviation). Parameters are extracted per terrarium cell and aggregated by spherical ring (zenith, upper, horizon, lower, nadir), yielding a 54-column structural matrix. Analysis of 454 terrarium reconstructions across 33 OBFS field stations demonstrates that the horizon ring linearity parameter is stable across seasons while green fraction tracks phenological state, that post-fire structural signatures are correctly identified as outliers, and that principal component analysis separates stations by biome and season along interpretable axes. These methods form the analytical foundation for the Terrarium Analyst instrument (LAB·03) in the YEA Laboratory suite.} }