3D GIS and 3D Modeling
3D GIS
3D GIS is the addition of a third dimension (z coordinate) to a two-dimensional (x and y
coordinates) plane or feature to create a 3D. It is heavily influenced by 2D (two-dimensional)
GIS, but it has its distinct characteristics. By combining a z-value into mapping, 3D GIS adds a
new dimension to data collection and analysis. It includes terrain visualization, cityscape
modeling, augmented reality, and sophisticated spatial data analysis. 3D GIS's core components
are 3D data capture, 3D visualization, and 3D modeling and management.
3D GIS is adding a third dimension by adding height (z co-ordinate) to two dimensional (x and y
co-ordinates) plane or feature creating a 3D. It is inherited strongly from 2D (two dimensional)
GIS, yet it has its own unique characteristics. It includes terrain visualization, cityscape modeling
or virtual reality and analysis of complex spatial data. The main components of 3D GIS are: 3D
data capture, 3D visualization and 3D modeling and management.
The purpose of maps, as geographers know, is to model reality. The maps are defined as a
“graphic representation of the milieu”. The use of the term milieu is interesting because it
suggests much more than the flat, static maps we are familiar with. It presents a challenge to step
beyond the comfortable reach of 2D representations to higher dimensions of visualization. To
model reality more clearly, it certainly makes sense that we strive to map what we actually
experience. In comparison to the advancements in 3D visualization, relatively little has been
accomplished in the realization of a practical 3D GIS. The obvious reason remains: the transition
to 3D means that an even greater diversity of an object types, and spatial relationships can now
be represented alongside very large volumes of data.
In a 2D GIS, a feature or phenomenon is represented as an area of grid cells or as an area within
a polygon boundary. A 3D GIS, on the other hand, deals with volumes. Consider a cube, instead
of looking at just its faces, one must also be informed about what lies inside the cube. To
function, 3D GIS require information to be complete and continuous. Clearly, the data
management task has increased by another power. More problematic, however, it is the initial
task of acquiring 3D data. In medical imaging, this is not particularly difficult. But for
geographers, who work at much greater scales, this can be an exercise in interpolation and spatial
adjacency.
Most 3D perceptions, notably in the consumer market, are found in gaming and interactive
systems. Users in these systems must be aware of their location in the physical world or an
interactive virtual environment. Most often, this assumes including elevation data, but users have
numerous options for adding additional layers of information. Users think it would be possible to
examine and connect with their data as if they were in a gaming environment when using GIS in
3D.
Users of 3D GIS frequently believe that they'll be interested in exploring at scales ranging from
global to their front porch. BIM data has become broadly accepted as a major source for
collecting assets at detailed building and infrastructure resolutions so that these assets can be
displayed realistically in 3D in GIS.
Building Information Model (BIM)
In a subsequent method, researchers combined building information modeling (BIM), that
integrates information about a building's internal, structural features, with geographic
information systems (GIS), which incorporates soil and subsurface qualities in a building site,
which can be preferable for building protection because both foundational and construction
quality can be analyzed simultaneously. For example, the suitability of particular building
materials and concrete can be evaluated about the soils on which the building is built. Surface
and subsurface models are among the outputs, which aid in identifying potential weak spots or
vulnerable areas of a building and construction site.
Over the years, GIS has made a significant impact in creating mapping as an essential tool to
solve problems. Conventionally, GIS information was based on a two-dimensional recording,
which limited its usage in most applications. Incorporating 3D technology in GIS customizes the
whole experience, making it more personal and enabling detailed visualization. Let us look at
some of the uses of 3D GIS.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an important technology that depicts real-world settings
of an environment. The combination of BIM and GIS provides the necessary know-how to build
a robust model. The combination of 3D GIS and BIM can help produce error-free building
management plans that would eventually allow for a more detailed analysis of data.
Town planning
Today, the majority of cities are suffering from a lack of basic amenities such as water,
electricity, and living space. The issue can be traced back to inadequate resource allocation.
Combining 3D technology into GIS can assist government agencies, architects, and engineers in
envisioning, evaluating, and analyzing how certain changes in a city will look, and how these
modifications will meet the needs of the present and future. A 3d imaging model would include
building information, satellite data, and traffic conditions that urban planners can use to
effectively find better solutions and resolve crises.
The third aspect is becoming increasingly important in city planning and management. 3D GIS
modeling provides a flexible virtual environment with one of the best visual interpretations of
data, which aids city planners in their planning and decision-making processes. As a result, the
3D GIS model indicates terrain features in an informative manner, facilitating project
management and analysis through 3D visualization. The potential to overlay spatial datasets such
as infrastructure locations, street widths, building footprints, and tree locations is one of GIS's
most powerful features, letting users visualize and understand the relationships between the data.
GIS's ability to process and analyze remote sensing data makes it a useful tool for spatial
planning (e.g., land use, infrastructure, and transportation planning).
Maps in three dimensions are pivotal to leveraging the exploration, presentation, and
manipulation of geospatial data in many interactive computer graphics applications. GIS experts
use three-dimensional maps to present spatial data to non-experts. Geoinformatics systems, 3D
computer graphics, and 3D GIS have only recently become a reality. The majority of 3D GIS
applications, on the other hand, tend to focus on visualization, such as walk-through animations
or scenic simulations.
Conclusion
3D GIS is a valuable tool for city designers and planners to use for simulation and analysis. The
3D GIS application was created to e?ciently assess urban space as well as provide additional data
about urban planning to local communities. This application allows users to visualize complex
urban planning information in 3D, analyze the admissible capacity of a block, and simulate
building plans. With the ability to visualize and analyze data, 3D GIS is regarded as a powerful
tool for addressing the various issues that modern cities experience.
WEB GIS
Nowadays, life with Internet-based technologies gives people unlimited access to all types of
information in space-time. In turn, Geographic Information Systems are a tool for creating,
manipulating, storing, analysing and visualizing geospatial data. Merging WEB and GIS
components into one interconnected system provides free and universal access to Big Data from
everywhere. This technological progress helps a wide range of users to find solutions that can
meet their needs.
In fact, WEB GIS is a set of software, hardware, data, procedures and specialists and it is a
powerful tool for communication between web-based server and client architectural components.
Undeniable advantages of WEB GIS products are the possibilities for visualizing geospatial data
in real time, maintaining different operating systems and building cross platform applications.
Only the development of WEB technologies allows GIS to continue growing and developing
their potential. Extremely important step in development process is the transition from the
traditional exchange of databases on paper or digital media to modern transfer of attribute and
spatial information in the Web. If somehow people attempt to separate GIS from WEB, it would
undoubtedly cause a lack of stability in functioning of the numerous application fields in our
society. As an end result it would be much more difficult for people to keep up with the
qualitative symbiosis between them. That is why the application of WEB GIS cannot be assumed
to be an unjustifiable and meaningless vagary, but can be thought of as a powerful tool that could
help getting through many problems such as social, political, economic and environmental
issues.
BRIEF HISTORY OF WEB MAPPING:
For decades, the main access to geographic information has been pursued only through
desktop-based personal computers. During this long period of time it hasn’t been possible to be
easily and efficiently shared information with Proceedings, 6 th International Conference on
Cartography and GIS, 13-17 June 2016, Albena, Bulgaria ISSN: 1314-0604, Eds: Bandrova T.,
Konecny M. 288 other people and organizations due to the lack of rational approach and
innovative thinking for tackling this problem. With the invasion of the Internet in the mid-90s the
idea of sharing maps and other geographic information between computers both within the labor
organization and the public space began to grow. Hardware presence of this and each subsequent
stage of development preceded the advancement of the newest software technologies and the
necessary technical skills of the cartographers-performers. Currently, with the required dose of
desire and labor challenges, the detailed graphics, the good resolution and the smooth navigation
of the interactive cartographic images can be effectively achieved. More and more, the
development of web space turns into an opportunity for exercising new cartographic techniques
and tools for making satisfactory attractive maps. This is evidenced by the frequent use of
methods for "smart" snapping interactive map objects and immediately highlighting their “origin
location”. Here also appears the necessity of using different management approaches according
to protrusion and coloring, combined with pop-up windows from the stylishly formatted web
page. The highest advantage of WEB technologies from a development perspective occurs at the
end of the XX century, when the possibility of accessing maps from mobile devices becomes a
reality. The development of the web maps as a current and future process is constantly growing
proportion of the introduction and improvement of modern personal computers and portable
mobile devices. Without this progress realization, the access to a map content would be
significantly more limited, much more difficult and extraordinarily slowed. The transition from
GIS to WEB enables an universal access to geospatial information as for both employees and
customers of various organizations. In the broad sense, this progress is also useful for ordinary
people because it allows them the ability to search some information that could meet their needs
freely and easily.
MOBILE GIS
Mobile GIS operates on a phone or tablet while Desktop GIS is installed directly onto a desktop
or laptop computer. One depends on the cloud while the other is stored locally.
Until recently, printed maps and forms were taken to the field and the information collected was
sketched as notes on the map or written down on a form. This information was entered into a
GIS database after returning to the office. This method of data collection is inefficient and prone
to error. With a mobile GIS system and the support of a satellite receiver, we can take a GIS into
the field with us on powerful, compact mobile computers and view, capture and update
information, and then synchronize changes between the field and office
However, mobility and cloud storage aren’t what truly set Mobile GIS apart. At the heart of
Mobile GIS is ease of use. Its counterpart requires specialized training to learn. Organizations
hire specialists to implement Desktop GIS and oversee a complicated system of record - detailed
information on every mapped asset. This work involves complex data management, processing,
and analytics.
In contrast, Mobile GIS takes data from these back-office systems and represents it in a
digestible format that anyone can use - making GIS actionable. Professional applications for
mobile GISs are endless—utilities, forestry, environmental monitoring, field engineering, to
mention a few. With the integration of systems, users are able to view each others’ locations and,
for example, share field data dynamically across their organization. Specifically, the data
captured with mobile GISs can be instantly checked, updated and exchanged if necessary.
A simple task-driven mobile application begins in the office. GIS data are extracted from the
main database and mapped onto the mobile device to be used in the field. The updated data are
uploaded after returning to the office.
A high-end mobile GIS application typically runs on a powerful laptop computer, many of which
provide a rich set of tools comparable to a desktop GIS application. A fast wireless connection
enables direct access to maps and databases at the office, and synchronizes changes between the
field and office through a web service.
In cases where there is no connection to the main database in the office (e.g. a firewall makes
access impossible), field edits can be synchronized later, when access to the main database is
provided. A versioned transaction may take care of the situation that the same feature (in the
field) is updated several times: it can compare the updates (reconciling the version edits) before
transferring the feature to the main, or parent, database.
Mobile GIS is built with a different purpose in mind than Desktop GIS.
It unites teams across an organization through streamlined field work management,
collaboration, and data collection. Even if someone doesn’t know what GIS is, they can still use
Mobile GIS to:
● Look up information about an asset and communicate with team members about work
● Easily navigate the field by seeing themselves and the location of their work on a map
● Collect key information that can then be transferred to their system of record, which may
be a Desktop GIS
Without Mobile GIS, field crews don’t have the tools and spatial intelligence they need to do
their work efficiently. They’re left with analog, paper-based workflows or clunky field software,
which risk perpetuating siloes, confusion, bad data, and delays.
