GPS World

Tag: 3D mapping

  • Agency9 Brings WebGL Streaming of 3D Cities to iOS and Android

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    Agency9, a provider of online 3D visualization, is extending its 3DMaps WebGL support to iOS and Android devices. Large, highly detailed 3D city models can now be streamed to web browsers on both tablets and smartphones with both high performance and visual quality, the company said.

    Mobile support substantially improves reach in GIS and planning applications, Agency9 said. Using WebGL and HTML5 improves usability with plugin-free viewing of 3D directly in a web browser, eliminating the need to download and install dedicated apps.

    Most WebGL 3D solutions on the market are pure “model viewers,” limited to show a CAD model and its closest surroundings or simple untextured LOD 1,2 models. Agency9 3DMaps is capable of smoothly visualizing large scale terrain and detailed textured building models on a national or global basis. For example, huge photorealistic 3D models created with tools such as Smart3DCapture by Acute3D, recently acquired by Bentley Systems, can now be published online using WebGL without limitation in size or resolution, the company said.

    Agency9 3DMaps supports common 3D scenery in common GIS formats (including ArcGIS and CityGML) and is also validated with output from tools as Smart3DCapture, PhotoScan from AgiSoft, and StreetFactory from Airbus Defence and Space, as well as LiDAR/imagery tools from TerraSolid.

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    The Agency9 3DMaps developer platform enables the customization of portals as well as integration into existing applications to leverage ubiquitous support for streaming large 3D data to users across all formats including tablet, mobile, Windows and MacOS.

    Rendering substantial 3D data sets in the browser using 3DMaps with advanced gaming effects such as ambient occlusion, real time sun and shadows, and god rays ensures the finest realism and user experience, the company said. 3DMaps also supports integration of spatial data and databases for intelligent models and visualisation of statistics. Visit the 3DMaps developer portal at http://developer.agency9.com.

    Mobile support will also be available in Agency9 CityPlanner, the cloud service for creating and sharing 3D project information and citizen dialogues in urban development. Smart Cities can more easily reach citizens and stakeholders on the web with interactive visualisation of projects in 3D. An example of a large project model created in ESRI CityEngine and visualized in the huge photorealistic 3D scene above.

    Photos: Agency9

  • Routescene Showcases 3D LiDAR at ILMF in Denver

    routescene-lidarpod-uav-fullThe Routescene LidarPod 3D mapper, a self-contained turnkey solution new to the market, is being showcased for the first time in the United States at the International Lidar Mapping Forum in Denver, Colo., Feb. 23-25. Routescene is based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

    The flexible LidarPod was developed for use on unmanned aerial vehicles, but can also be fitted onto any mobile platform such as a car or boat. The flexibility makes it attractive for many sectors and situations where accurate mapping is essential but difficult to achieve, enabling surveys to be conducted in areas that previously would not have been considered, Routescene said.

    routescene-uav-flightThe technology offers a non-intrusive method to obtain detailed and precise geo-referenced 3D datasets, Routescene said. LidarPod 3D can be used for 3D mapping; powerline inspection; scoping, planning and management of mines; forestry design, management and operation; large-scale topographic surveys; and city planning and management.

    Routescene LidarPod costs less than a vehicle-based mobile mapping system, Routescene said. The turnkey solution includes LidarViewer, specially developed software to turn the raw data into valuable business information. It enables users to convert, analyze and filter huge volumes of point cloud data to improve productivity and workflow. Powerful filters enable users to extract relevant data for use in third party software, such as GIS and CAD packages, which are unable to cope with such large data volumes.

    Routescene can be found at booth 65 at ILMF.

  • Google Shows Commitment to Project Tango 3D Mapping Device

    project-tango-mainGoogle has reaffirmed its commitment to Project Tango, moving it from the Advanced Technology and Projects Group (ATAP) to a new home inside the company itself, reports Digital Trends.

    Project Tango, unveiled in 2014, aims to make it possible to create a 3D model of the space around a smartphone. For instance, a user can map an area, such as a home, by walking around with the phone.

    ATAP is Google’s mobile-focused project development laboratory, and shifting Tango from there to a new base suggests Google is happy with the way the project is progressing and ready to take it to the next level, Digital Trends reports.

    Google has been collaborating with universities, research labs, and industrial partners in nine countries to concentrate the past 10 years of research in robotics and computer vision into a mobile phone.

    Project Tango devices contain customized hardware and software designed to track the full 3D motion of the device, while simultaneously creating a map of the environment. These sensors allow the device to make over a quarter million 3D measurements every second, updating its position and orientation in real-time, combining that data into a single 3D model of the space around you.

    Early prototypes run Android and include development APIs to provide position, orientation, and depth data to standard Android applications written in Java, C/C++, as well as the Unity Game Engine.

     

  • Global Mapper v16.1 Introduces 3D and UAV Video Playback Tools

    Global Mapper version 16.1, what Blue Marble terms an “interim release,” adds a UAV Video Playback Tool, new options to rotate the map view, and the ability to select and measure features in the 3D viewer. It is available for download.

    To introduce the new version, Blue Marble is presenting a free webinar titled “What’s New in Global Mapper v16.1” on February 19 at 2 p.m. EDT.

    The release includes a variety of updates to both the Global Mapper base product and the optional LiDAR Module. A new video playback tool allows users to play a video derived from the flight of an aircraft or UAV. The playback option displays a video file synced to any line feature with per-vertex times, fly-through lines or point features with recognized timestamp attributes.

    Version 16.1 of Global Mapper also offers the option to rotate the map view as needed, allowing the user to more clearly visualize any spatial data with a unique alignment. The automatic “Track Up” mode works when connected to a GPS device and rotates the map view based on the current GPS heading. The new release also introduces the ability to select vector features with the Digitizer tool in the 3D Viewer. This functionality links the 2D and 3D maps, allowing users the option to pan, zoom, measure, and add vector data in one viewer while automatically replicating actions and updating features in the other. The right-click menu enables users to perform many Digitizer operations on the selected features in the 3D window.

    Single-user license upgrades for version 15 are available for $169; upgrades are also available for USB dongles and network licenses. To purchase a dongle or network license upgrade, contact sales at [email protected].

  • Icaros to Unveil Versatile Nadir/Oblique Aerial Mapping System at InterGeo

    Icaros, Inc., a provider of aerial remote sensing and 3D visualization solutions, will unveil the IDM 1000 digital oblique mapping system next week at the 2014 InterGeo Conference in Germany. The versatile Icaros Digital Mapper (IDM) 1000 combines a high-accuracy photogrammetric nadir camera with four high-quality oblique sensors in a modular airborne imaging package.

    “Icaros developed the IDM 1000 for mapping organizations that want to maximize their investment in an aerial sensor system,” said Tom Bosanko, CEO of Icaros. “The IDM 1000 can be configured to meet the geospatial application needs of traditional photogrammetric imaging as well as 3D oblique mapping, all in one flexible system.”

    Icaros will display the IDM 1000 in booth #A4.009 Hall 4.1 at the InterGeo Conference and Trade Fair being held in Berlin October 7-9.

    The modular IDM 1000 package is built around the IDM 200 nadir camera with a new mount supporting up to four 45-degree oblique sensors. The standard IDM 1000 configuration includes an 80-megapixel (MP) nadir natural-color (RGB) sensor, four 36-MP oblique RGB sensors, modular mount, embedded GPS/INS, flight planning and management system, and the Icaros Photogrammetric Suite (IPS) of software tools.

    “Clients have the option of purchasing the IDM 1000 as a complete solution,” said Bosanko. “Or they can buy and operate the IDM 200 as a stand-alone unit and add the oblique cameras and mount later as their mapping offerings expand to include 3D modeling and oblique visualization.”

    The IDM camera family offers eight sensor-design alternatives, including near infrared and thermal infrared imaging. Each IDM camera delivers sub-pixel accuracy, high-dynamic range and true-color pixel collection. Depending on altitude, the pixel GSD ranges from 1 cm to 100 cm in nadir or oblique operations. The IDM 1000 can be flown on rotor or fixed wing aircraft and modified for flight on some UAVs.

    Aerial oblique imagery is used extensively in tax appraisal and assessment, and its applications are expanding rapidly into facility management, infrastructure monitoring, building energy audits, public safety and other GIS markets that benefit from creation of accurate 3D models and elevation data sets. The IDM 1000 is considered ideal to serve in the energy, utility, oil & gas, mining, urban development, security and defense markets.

    “The IDM 1000 package includes all of the software needed to process nadir and oblique imagery and perform advanced photogrammetric measurements,” said Bosanko. “The new Icaros Measurement Tool (IMT) is included.”

    The IMT is a universal oblique measurement tool. It enables customers working within Esri’s GIS environment to view and measure structures in oblique aerial imagery captured by any commercial oblique sensor system, including those from Pictometry, Vexcel/Microsoft, IGI, Leica, and Midas. IMT works equally well measuring images captured by oblique sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

    As GIS users continue the move to 3D, oblique imagery will be critical for constructing accurate image-based realistic 3D models. IMT enables users to manipulate and view oblique imagery while leveraging other geospatial data layers within their GIS environment. This capability allows users to navigate multi-image scenes in three dimensions while zooming and panning.

    The IMT software will also be demonstrated in the Icaros booth at InterGEO.

     

  • SuperGIS 3D Earth Server 3.2 Officially Launched

    20140407 SuperGIS 3D Earth Server 3.2

    Supergeo Technologies, a provider of complete GIS software and solutions, has released SuperGIS 3D Earth Server 3.2 to assist enterprises in managing, integrating, publishing and displaying geographic data and 3D models.

    SuperGIS 3D Earth Server 3.2 is GIS software designed to publish and overlay terrain data, 3D models, and so forth with spatial data, as well as to display the spatial data in 3D view. The GIS software can help users better explore geographic space and the spatial relation among data.

    Integrating a cloud concept for straightforward data publishing and management, SuperGIS 3D Earth Server 3.2 allows users to easily distribute and deploy data. Administrators not only can effortlessly publish data as 3D map services over the Internet, but also apply browsers to access the published data, services, and websites without extra plug-ins.

    Front-end users can directly view and manipulate the services in the 3D environment, including Query Feature, Position Query Results, and Share Screenshot. In this way, excellent interaction between users and maps can be obtained to further examine  GIS-related problems to get best solutions for spatial issues.

    For the latest product or to download a free trial, visit http://www.supergeotek.com/ProductPage_3DEarth.aspx

    Introduction video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCidggbbBpM&list=UUZif2ttCAyr0Z-LUUrd6aKQ

    Demo site with Google Chrome: http://sgs.supergeo.com.tw/SeaLevel/SGSEarth.htm