MORE THAN RENDERING – PRINTED TOURIST MAPS AND AN INTERACTIVE
3D INFORMATION SYSTEM FROM HIGHLY DETAILED 3D LANDSCAPE MODELS
S. Bleisch, S. Nebiker
FHNW, Institute of Geomatics Engineering, Muttenz,
Switzerland
susanne.bleisch@fhnw.ch
The aim of this project is to investigate how
highly detailed 3D terrain and building models can be utilised as base data for
printed 2D tourist maps and for a flexible interactive 3D information system
addressing a variety of users. Cartography is the art or technique of creating
maps or map-like representations of the real world. Rendering 2D views from 3D
models in contrast is a computer graphics task. In order to derive a useful 2D
map for tourist orientation from 3D models, cartographic knowledge needs to
guide the visualisation and rendering process. The area and objects of the
open-air museum Ballenberg with about 100 original century-old buildings from
all over Switzerland are used to study how detailed digital 3D models can serve
as base data for print map design. Several aspects were found to influence the
creation of efficient 2D tourist maps of the area. The project uses Cinema 4D
to vary and analyse parameters like scales, textures, level of detail,
surroundings, projection, etc. of the buildings, the woods and the terrain. The
goal is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the 3D base data for
printed tourist map generation and to provide guidelines on how to achieve
effective and appealing results.
The second part of the project researches how
the same 3D base data can be used for an interactive information system
addressing different users from children and adult museum visitors to
architectural researchers. All those users have very different requirements and
much information like signposts, waste bin locations, panoramic views, detailed
interior constructions of buildings and cross sections is available for
extending the 3D visualization. This information is present in several formats
and forms and requires varying ways of integration into a 3D information system.
The project employs a prototype to conceptualise and evaluate the possibilities
for inclusion of this information, for the combination of 2D and 3D
presentations and it suggests suitable methods for information linking and
retrieval. The aspects regarding presentation of variable information content
according to different user requirements will be studied in a later phase of
the project. The findings of these project phases are partly specific to the
information and models available of the study region Ballenberg. But the
compiled guidelines and suggestions may be applicable more generally to the use
of 3D data for creating print maps or 3D information systems in rural areas and
for open-air museums and exhibitions.