Geneva 3D SDI

The requirements for a 3D Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) include not only tools and processes for the initial recording and storage of 3D data but also solutions for an efficient data management and data distribution. Accordingly, a state-of-the-art 3D-SDI solution must provide processes and tools for data storage and management, the publication of the 3D data as 3D web mapping applications, and automated data transformation and distribution. The overall goal of a 3D-SDI must be to ease the access to the available 3D data in order to satisfy the needs of heterogeneous user groups.

The project demonstrates a 3D-SDI solution to manage, distribute, and visualize the Geneva 3D data. The solution makes use of several OGC standards and services. First, for data management, the Geneva 3D data is integrated into a single 3D geo-database that is based on CityGML. Second, the 3D data can be exported from this database into various 3D industry formats besides CityGML (e.g., ESRI Multipatch, ESRI PGDB, 3DS, KML/COLLADA) in order to feed the data into existing processes and applications that not necessarily support CityGML. The export of 3D data from the database into CityGML is realized using an OGC WFS interface. Third, the 3D data can be effectively prepared for web-based 3D visualizations and thematic 3D web maps using a web-based authoring tool. Finally, further existing 2D or 3D data can be integrated into the 3D web maps using standard OGC web services (WMS, WFS)

During the project we demonstrated how to integrate the heterogeneous 3D datasets from Geneva into one CityGML database which serves as central point for producing a 3D-SDI solution for the management, distribution, and web-based visualization of the data. The focus of this project is hereby on the data management and distribution aspects.