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Automated 3D Urban Landscapes Visualization Using Open Data Sources on the Example of the City of Zagreb

Automatisierte 3D-Visualisierung urbaner Landschaften unter Verwendung offener Datenquellen am Beispiel der Stadt Zagreb

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Abstract

Geographical location visualization is important to create virtual environments when performing simulations. This study uses publicly available data sources to create three-dimensional (3D) views of geographical locations, focusing on the city of Zagreb as a case study, and presents an automated solution that integrates data from four different sources to achieve this. Publicly available data sources (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps Elevation API, MapBox Static Images API) were used, and GIS Zrinjevac which is unique to Zagreb. Based on these sources, individual 3D objects were generated and displayed virtually in the form of an interactive 3D map. The proposed solution attempts to balance the differing levels of detail achieved using other techniques. The solution was implemented in the form of an application created using the Unity game engine. The results were analyzed to evaluate the solution’s validity and the created application’s performance. The analysis showed that the total execution time dependence is quadratically polynomial to the amount of retrieved data, and linear to the number of height map points. Examining the application’s update rate showed that the buildings and individual models used for polygon and point data had the greatest impact. Finally, possible improvements, alternative approaches, and advantages and disadvantages of the proposed solution are compared with other techniques used in this research area.

Zusammenfassung

Die Visualisierung geographischer Standorte ist wichtig, um virtuelle Umgebungen zur Durchführung von Simulationen zu erstellen. Diese Studie verwendet öffentlich verfügbare Datenquellen, um dreidimensionale (3D) Ansichten geographischer Standorte abzuleiten, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf der Stadt Zagreb als Fallstudie liegt. Die Studie liefert eine automatisierte Lösung, um Daten aus vier verschiedenen Quellen zu integrieren. Verwendet wurden öffentlich verfügbare Datenquellen (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps Elevation API, MapBox Static Images API) sowie GIS Zrinjevac, welches nur in Zagreb verfügbar ist. Auf der Grundlage dieser Quellen wurden individuelle 3D-Objekte generiert und in einer interaktiven 3D-Karte virtuell dargestellt. Die vorgeschlagene Lösung versucht, die unterschiedlichen Level of Details auszugleichen, die bei Verwendung anderer Techniken erreicht werden. Die Lösung wurde in Form einer Anwendung implementiert, die mit der Game-Engine Unity erstellt wurde. Um die Lösung im Ganzen fachgerecht zu bewerten sowie die Leistungsfähigkeit der entwickelten Anwendung zu überprüfen, wurden die Ergebnisse analysiert. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die Ausführungszeit im Ganzen quadratisch-polynomial abhängig ist von der Menge der abgerufenen Daten. Zudem ist sie linear abhängig zur Anzahl der Höhenkartenpunkte. Bei der Untersuchung der Aktualisierungsrate der Anwendung zeigte sich, dass die Gebäude sowie die einzelnen Modelle, die für Polygon- und Punktdaten verwendet wurden, den größten Einfluss hatten. Am Ende werden mögliche Verbesserungen, alternative Ansätze sowie die Vor- und Nachteile der vorgeschlagenen Lösung mit anderen in diesem Forschungssegment eingesetzten Techniken verglichen.

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Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics, Microelectronics, Computer and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Unska 3, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Adrian Komadina & Željka Mihajlović

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  1. Adrian Komadina
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  2. Željka Mihajlović
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Correspondence to Adrian Komadina or Željka Mihajlović.

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Komadina, A., Mihajlović, Ž. Automated 3D Urban Landscapes Visualization Using Open Data Sources on the Example of the City of Zagreb. KN J. Cartogr. Geogr. Inf. 72, 139–152 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42489-022-00102-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42489-022-00102-w

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