The Geopod interface was carefully designed to be simple and intuitive, presenting necessary features with a minimum of distraction. The main parts of the Geopod interface are described below.

1. Main viewing area allows plenty of room for users to examine isosurfaces in the data volume.
2. Parameter display at the bottom of the screen holds up to 9 parameters; optional overflow panel displays up to an additional 10. Users can drag and drop parameter entries to create whatever custom arrangement they find most convenient.
3. Navigational instruments assist users as they fly Geopod through the data volume. See the Navigation section below for details.
4. Buttons allow access to additional functionality. See the Devices and Additional Features sections for more details.

Geopod is all about flying inside the atmosphere to explore meteorological phenomena, so it’s important for users to be able to understand where they are and easily get where they want to be. Fortunately, Geopod provides a wide range of navigational instruments to help users pilot effectively.

Most navigation in Geopod is done with video-game like key and mouse controls. The traditional WSAD keys are used for forward, backward, left and right movement, with additional keys used to pitch, roll and yaw. Other keys are shortcuts to useful locations. For example, R resets the Geopod to its starting position above the data volume while T positions Geopod in a top-down view over the data volume. Two varieties of rotation are available with the mouse: click and drag rotation with the left mouse button and continuous rotation with the right mouse button, allowing users to select the behavior that works best for them.

Autopilot and Lat/Lon/Alt Display

The Lat/Lon/Alt display allows Geopod users to always see exactly where they are in the atmosphere, and can also be combined with the Autopilot feature to take the Geopod to an exact location. Simply enter the location you want in the Lat/Lon/Alt boxes and click “GO” to be flown anywhere. This is particularly useful for returning to interesting locations, or directing students to locations where they will observe particular atmospheric conditions.

Geocoding (forward and reverse)

Geopod leverages Google’s geocoding capabilities to help users connect positions in the atmosphere to locations on the political map. Using forward geocoding, Geopod users can to determine the city, state or country over which Geopod is currently positioned. Reverse geocoding, used in conjunction with the autopilot feature, allows users to type in a place name and then fly there.

Isosurface Lock

The isosurface lock helps users explore the relationships between various atmospheric parameters. This feature allows users to “lock on” to and fly along an isosurface, where they can use the parameter display panel to observe how some parameters change while the isosurface parameter maintains a constant value. While users are locked on, their flight path is painted along the surface so that afterward they can see exactly where they've been.

Mini-map

The Mini-map lets users easily see where they are in relation to the rest of the world. Located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, the Mini-map displays a map of the world with a marker indicating the Geopod’s current position. This is especially useful if you are exploring a complicated isosurface and have lost sight of the earth’s surface.

Compass

Geopod’s compass allows users to determine their heading and makes it easy to follow directions like “fly northeast…”

Attitude Indicator

This instrument measures the pitch and roll of the Geopod and allows users to quickly determine if they are aligned with the earth’s surface. The indicator was designed to be easy to read at a glance. If the red line is in the brown area, Geopod is pitched downward, if the red line is in blue area (as shown), Geopod is pitched upward, and if the red line is exactly between the two areas, Geopod is level with the surface.

Speed Control

With this instrument, users can adjust the speed at which Geopod flies as they navigate through the atmosphere. This way, users can move very slowly to investigate the effects small changes in position have on atmospheric conditions, or very quickly to cover large distances to reach an area of interest.

In addition to isosurface and parameter display, Geopod provides a number of useful devices that facilitate and enhance student’s exploration of the atmosphere. These devices allow students to gather additional data about atmospheric conditions or view existing information in different ways.

Dropsonde

This device allows Geopod users to see a vertical profile of the atmosphere at their current latitude and longitude. Users can view graphs of temperature, dewpoint, relative humidity, u wind and v wind plotted against pressure or, if they prefer, altitude. Geopod maintains a customizable history of launched dropsondes which users can cycle through to see how the graphs change at different locations.

Particle Imager

The Particle Imager helps users explore the effects of temperature and relative humidity on particle formation by displaying images of the particles that could form under the conditions at their current location. This device updates continuously; a changed image alerts users that they have moved to a location with different particle formation. Users can cycle also through several particle images within the same particle formation category.

Distance Calculator

The Distance Calculator measures the straight-line distance between a starting point and the Geopod’s current location. Updating continuously as the Geopod moves, this device ensures that users can always see how far away they are from when they started and evaluate changes in parameter values accordingly.

Notepad and Note Location System

The Note Location System allows users to keep track of interesting locations as they fly through the atmosphere. “Noting” a location saves its lat, lon and alt along with the values of all the parameters in the parameter display panel and an optional comment in the Notepad. Users can later open the Notepad to see their noted locations and add additional comments. The Notepad serves as a mini-text editor: users can edit their notes, save them in a .txt file, and open other .txt files from previous sessions all inside Geopod.

Gridpoint Visualizer

Geopod and IDV use 3D gridded data sets, which means that data from certain points in the atmosphere is interpolated to provide information for every location in the data volume. The Gridpoint visualizer helps users to understand this underlying dataset by showing the locations where actual data was given. Using the autopilot, users can easily fly to any of these gridpoints and see the actual conditions there.

The Flight Data Recorder allows users to maintain a record of their flight path and the activities, like launching dropsondes and noting locations, that they have performed at various locations. Then with the Flight Playback feature, users can be automatically taken back through their movements and activities to review exactly what took place during their exploration of the atmosphere.

In addition to navigational instruments and the devices described above, Geopod provides several additional systems that provide advanced features and allow users to customize their experience.

Parameter Chooser

The parameter chooser lets users decide which parameters they want Geopod to display and update as they navigate through the atmosphere. Users can select up to 19 of the over 50 parameters available, ensuring that they have just the right information to explore whatever meteorological concepts they choose.

Isosurface Display

This feature makes it easy to view, adjust, and remove the 3D isosurfaces displayed in Geopod. Users can see what parameter was used to create each isosurface, determine what constant value of that parameter is being shown, change the parameter value, remove the isosurface completely, or use a shortcut to the IDV interface where they can access more advanced isosurface manipulation options.

Help/Resource System

Help is always close at hand in Geopod. The help system gives a complete description of key and mouse controls and provides links to other helpful meteorological and Geopod-related content.

Settings Manager

Advanced settings can be safely ignored by novice users but provide advanced users with the flexibility to modify how navigation, flight recording, the Dropsonde device, and other systems behave.