Unity Developer (Volunteer) Wanted for Open-Source 3D Anatomy Atlas (CC-BY-SA)

[Z-Anatomy]

Hi everyone,

I’m Gauthier, and I’m working on Z-Anatomy, a free and open-source 3D anatomy atlas (human and veterinary) under the CC-BY-SA license. The project includes detailed 3D models (humans, cats, etc.) and aims to create an open educational resource for everyone.

Right now, I’m funded €2,000 gross/month to produce a cat atlas, but I’m looking for additional funding to continue the project and eventually hire a skilled Unity developer (and pay myself too!).

In the meantime, I need help improving the existing Unity application (originally coded by Lluis Vinent).

Why contribute?

If you’re a Unity developer (C#) and want to contribute to a meaningful open-source project, I’d love to collaborate with you—even on a part-time or occasional basis. There’s no pay for now, but it’s a great opportunity to:

• Work on a real, innovative project,
• Contribute to open science and education,
• Get credited in the project and on our platforms,
• Receive a LinkedIn recommendation or reference letter.

What’s involved?

• Improving the Unity app’s interface and features,
• Optimizing 3D model integration (.fbx, textures, etc.),
• Developing annotation or comparative anatomy tools.

Interested?

Shoot me a message at gauthier.kervyn@z-anatomy.com with:

• Your Unity experience or projects,
• Why you’d like to contribute,
• Your availability.

I’m open to all kinds of collaboration, even occasional help.

Feel free to share this post with anyone who might be interested!

Thanks,
Gauthier

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P.S. The project is based in Montpellier, France, but everything is remote.

[Talha-Dogan]

This sounds like a fantastic initiative for open science!

Since you are dealing with a high volume of detailed 3D models (Human/Cat atlases), memory management will likely be your biggest bottleneck in Unity.

As a Unity developer, I strongly recommend looking into Unity Addressables Asset System if you haven't already.

Why? It allows you to load/unload specific anatomy parts (e.g., "Nervous System" or "Skeletal System") asynchronously from memory only when needed, rather than keeping the entire atlas in RAM. This is crucial for keeping the app performant on lower-end devices or WebGL builds.

A tip for attracting contributors: Most developers hesitate to jump into a large codebase. I suggest creating a few "Good First Issues" in your repository. For example:

"Fix UI scaling on mobile"

"Optimize texture compression for the skull model"

"Add a simple search filter script"

Labeling these clearly helps newcomers (like those here in the "New to GitHub" community) feel confident enough to submit their first Pull Request.

Best of luck with the funding!