A Multi-Dimensional View of GIS
The best efforts os far in 3 D environment are those utilizing a visualization toolkit developed the Centre for Landscape Research, University of Toronto. This toolkit is based on '3D inferenceengines' to expand and link 2D GIS feature with 3D attributes (Hoinkes and Lange). However this toolkit is only available for powerful Silicon Graphics(SCI) Workstation Computers running screen point-and-click queries so popular in conventional GIS.
There have been efforts to take this one step further and utilize Virtual Reality (VR) systems for a "full immersion" type of visualization whereby the operator participates as a first person observer, navigator and inter-actor complete with full regalia of VR goggles and/or data gloves (Parson). This is perhaps the ultimate tool in spatial visualization and interactivity, but current VR technology have yet to provide this "full immersion experience" on our desktops especially with its limited flexibility for model generation, high cost, less power and viewability. However there is a lot of promise to this technology especially with its mix of realistic imaging, sounds and video to create virtual works.
Perhaps the scientific and research community can be more involved and share in the experience of an excitement for these new technologies.
The Design and Development of a Multi-dimensional System.
The current state of technology suggests the possibility of porting conventional 2D GIS to a multi-dimensional system preserving most of the 2D GIS functionality and enhancing their visual and analytical capability with the addition of higher dimension in one integrated system at lower costs.
The task at hand is to take advantage of these new developments in imaging and visualization technologies and design a system that integrates the power and flexibility of conventional 2D GISS system and apply them to a multi-dimensional system. The system must therefore be capable of transferring the most basic and necessary functions of a GIS and in addition, include the following multi-level parameters:
- Expand the capability of conventional 3D visualization and incorporate interactive point-and-click queries and spatial analysis.
- Maintain low cost in both hardware and operating system platforms.
- Have wider audience viewability which is only possible using conventional display devices.
- Be more interactive and have real-time rendering capabilities which means that the operator must be able to navigate the world model, be capable of moving objects around, change object physical or attribute properties interactively on-screen (geocode), query for more information about these object and return other useful information from a linked database using conventional SQL method.
- Have multi-view capabilities to enable simultaneous viewing from different positions and locations
- Be capable of being manipulated down to its most basic object polygon structure to enable full control for visualization and simulation.
- Have the capability for conventional CAD object model creation, modification and control in the textural material to be used in representing the solid model.
- Be able to do object model simplification to reduce graphics rendering overhead but still maintain overall visual accuracy and interpretability.
- Be able to interface with conventional 2D GIS data formats and structure to enable an easier transition and porting of existing GIS databases.
- Have an additional function to capture real -time data such as those coming from GPS or field sensors and representing this visually in the virtual world model as moving objector animated texture maps.
- Have capability to transfer 3D coordinate values of points, lines and regions-a3D digitizer.
- Be flexible enough for any future enhancements such as multimedia support and VR devices.
