3D models are more than just eye candy! With CityGML, the three dimensional data contains real intelligence and is now a reliable application for real-life deployment in telecommunications, city planning, disaster recovery, noise mapping, simulators and vehicle navigation.
During the Oracle Spatial SIG Meeting in Reading last month, Ian Painter of Snowflake Software presented how GO Publisher has been used in the Open Geospatial Consortium OWS-4 testbed to deploy CityGML via Web Feature Services.
Until recently, virtual 3D city models only consisted of façade graphics – providing an appealing visualization of the surroundings but no further information. Missing are the details on the buildings themselves – the semantic aspects with information on the storeys, owners, components and even construction year and status. Typically, these models are also based on proprietary exchange formats. The industry now recognises a need for an open standard to address these issues.
CityGML – originating from the SIG 3D of GeoData Infrastructure (GDI) NRW - is a GML3 application schema designed for multi functional city modelling. It is unique in that it covers the four most important aspects of virtual 3D city models: Geometry, Semantics, Topology and Appearance. CityGML offers coherent spatial and semantic modelling – providing an ideal balance between simplicity and the need for structure.
Painter presented how Snowflake connected its GO Publisher WFS (Web Feature Server) to numerous Oracle databases - each using different 3D relational models - which it then published to CityGML. The presentation also highlighted the importance of organisations being able to store and manage 3D in a relational model of their choice. CityGML can then be utilised as a wrapper around these models to create a unified open standard interface for the exchange of city models.
Snowflake Software also played a role in the Open Geospatial Consortium's OWS-4 Test Bed where GO Publisher WFS was deployed to publish CityGML and 3D TIN's over the internet to CAD and BIM clients in both North America and Germany.
"GO Publisher's ability to schema translate from any relational model to any given GML application schema is proven in the 2D world," explained Painter, "It is great to demonstrate to the Oracle Spatial community how this same technology can be put to work on some very complex 3D models, from helicopters to full architectural 3D walkthroughs”
Please also feel free to request for a full copy of the presentation using the email below.
Snowflake Software would like to thank Prof. Dr. Thomas H. Kolbe at the Institut für Geodäsie und Geoinformationstechnik Technische Universität, Berlin , for the provision of graphics for this Press Release.
If you have any further enquiries regarding this press release please e-mail
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
GISuser Feature Articles
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
Geo Social Location Checkin to Twitter from iPhone - With the cool SXSW event taking place Austin, TX, everyone who's anyone in social and social location seems to have rolled out updates this week, making your choice for how to check-in to your social media bookmarks even tougher to decide on!
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
See more 
