Software allows fast 3D models of buildings – Engineeringnet.nl

Research & amp; Science 9-12-2014 11:38:57

 
 

Researchers at the University of Twente have developed a software program that lets you quickly and relatively inexpensive to create 3D models of buildings.

 

ENGINEERINGNET.NL – These 3D models are currently being used for navigation, urban planning, safety, training, maintenance or for example the installation of solar panels

The current methods of 3D. models make are not automatic and often work on the basis of aerial photographs or measurements with lasers. These methods are expensive and time consuming.

Researcher Xiong Biao developed a program that for 95% of the buildings automatic 3D models can generate from laser data. The remaining 5% may be modeled manually efficiently with the program. The building models are detailed, right down to dormers

Xiong:. “The program can be used for a variety of applications. Municipalities and the Land Registry, the method used for example, but for businesses it is interesting. A roofer can for example, make a quote based on the 3D model of a roof. “

” For a company like Google is interesting. They already have 3D cards, but it takes time and money to make. The maps are not up-to-date and each update everything takes too much time. With our method is feasible. You can automatically update the maps for 95%. “

” It takes me with my laptop for example, only one week to make a 3D model of an entire city. For the Netherlands, we need something more people and computers, but we could produce a 3D model within a month. The costs are much lower than with current methods, because it is largely automatic. “

To generate the 3D models, the program uses laser data (LiDAR), these are results of measurements from a helicopter or an airplane. This information might come from the AHN Netherlands (AHN2) which data is freely available.

The buildings are created from the point cloud of LiDAR data and become even roofing detected. Then, parts of buildings recognized by analyzing roofs and these parts are modeled into a complete building.

If an error is discovered in the roof it will be then automatically restored because the program can recognize error patterns and learn . Sets the quality of the 3D model is guaranteed.

The 3D models are very detailed, on Level of Detail 2 level (LoD2), a level of detail which of shapes including dormers can be modeled. That’s a big improvement over existing programs that generate models on one detail level below

For comparison. LoD 1 is a level of detail where each building represented by a single height so that building models only flat roofs exhibit.