GISdevelopment.net --> Application --> Urban Planning
Web 3DS Business Models
Sudhagar Nagarajan, Karuppasamy Sudalaimuthu
Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences
Germany
Email: sudhagarn@gmail.com
Sudhagar Nagarajan, Karuppasamy Sudalaimuthu
Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences
Germany
Email: sudhagarn@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
The recent advancements in Web technologies have shown great development in bringing the 3D object to the web. Here with this paper we restrict only to the web 3D city models. There is an increasing need for 3D-descriptions of urban areas for various applications such as town planning, microclimate investigation or transmitter placement in telecommunication. But this information is not available 2D city models. This is the basic requirement for 3D city models. Also when we talk about the Technology, it is essential to discuss the cost to reach that. In this paper, the basic application areas of 3D city models and how Web 3D city models are beneficial to them are discussed along with some business models.
1. INTRODUCTION:
Instead of directly jumping into explaining the business model for 3D web city models, it is essential to give some idea about the 3D city models and its background.
So in this paper first the advantages and applications of 3D city models are discussed briefly. Later in this section, the already available Business models for the 3D city models are discussed.
2. BACKGROUND:
Web 3D models are extensively used in engineering and scientific visualization, CAD and Architecture, Medical visualization, Training and simulation, multimedia, entertainment, educational, and more.
There are three standard formats used for web 3D data as described by Web 3D consortium. One is VRML (virtual Reality modeling language) and the other is X3D.Also, it must be noted that VRML is soon to be replaced by the relatively new extensible 3D (X3D) file format. X3D is a software standard for defining interactive web- and broadcast-based 3D content integrated with multimedia (Web3D Consortium, 2004).
MPEG4 is another 3D standard used for integrating Video and 2D/3D graphics.
3. 3D CITY MODELS:
Use of 3D spatial information and thematic attribute information together with in a geographic database for a modern city is called 3D city model. A 3D city model basically, provides five different LoD (Level of Detail). (Thomas H. Kolbe et.al 2005)
FIG1: LEVEL OF DETAILS 1(Thomas H. Kolbe et.al 2005)
The Web 3D Service is a portrayal service for three-dimensional geodata, delivering graphical elements from a given geographical area. In contrast to the OGC Web Mapping service (WMS) and the OGC Web terrain service (WTS) 3D scene graphs are produced. These scene graphs will be rendered by the client and can interactively be explored by the user. The W3DS merges different types (layers) of 3D data in one scene graph.
4.ADVANTAGES OF 3D CITY MODEL
When compared to 2D, in 3D we have following addition components
FIG2:2D AND 3D CITY MODELS 1 (Stephan Nebiker,2002)
5. APPLICATIONS:
Following are the applications of 3D city models to name few.
Use of spatial data and GIS services has existed on campus for a number of years, originating primarily in 3D graphics and Games now extending their service to city models which is useful for several applications quoted above.
6.1 WHAT IS BUSINESS MODEL?
A business model is simply the architecture of a company and its network of partners for creating, marketing and delivering value and relationship capital to a global customer's base in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams.
6.2 WHO ARE ALL CUSTOMERS?
There are several factors involved in estimating the cost of the product to be sold. In case of any GIS data Price model could be based upon the following factors
Following is the general overview on cost of web 3D data today for the city of Hamburg, Germany.
In any case, Price model can be based on either Data capture cost or Application cost.
7.1 BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON DATA CAPTURE COST:
Cost of the Data is determined based upon the cost Data provider spent to capture and serve it. This is the most common method in Geodata business. For the above mentioned customers, possible Business model is illustrated in the Flow chart Business model based on Data capture cost
7.2 BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON DATA APPLICATION:
Cost of the Data can also be determined based upon value of that data to the customer or how much Customer is going to get profit from this data. For e.g. for private use like entertainment, customer will not get any money from the 3D data. For the cases of Tourism and Real estate, 3D data can be used to attract its Customers. So moderate cost can be fixed. But for the cases of Mobile network and Navigation high cost can be fixed, since those companies will get high profit from the 3D data. This is illustrated in the Flow chart Business model based on application
FIG3: MODEL BASED ON DATA CAPTURE COST
FIG4: MODEL BASED ON APPLICATION 1
8. CONCLUSION:
GIS services originating primarily in Urban Studies and Planning and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and now extending to other disciplines even in History and Political Science. In the similar way, Web 3d applications were initially started for Games and 3D Animations, now it is giving third Dimension to the GIS data. The increasing demand on Web 3D will shower lots of Business opportunities based on the discussed Business models.
REFERENCES:
The recent advancements in Web technologies have shown great development in bringing the 3D object to the web. Here with this paper we restrict only to the web 3D city models. There is an increasing need for 3D-descriptions of urban areas for various applications such as town planning, microclimate investigation or transmitter placement in telecommunication. But this information is not available 2D city models. This is the basic requirement for 3D city models. Also when we talk about the Technology, it is essential to discuss the cost to reach that. In this paper, the basic application areas of 3D city models and how Web 3D city models are beneficial to them are discussed along with some business models.
1. INTRODUCTION:
Instead of directly jumping into explaining the business model for 3D web city models, it is essential to give some idea about the 3D city models and its background.
So in this paper first the advantages and applications of 3D city models are discussed briefly. Later in this section, the already available Business models for the 3D city models are discussed.
2. BACKGROUND:
Web 3D models are extensively used in engineering and scientific visualization, CAD and Architecture, Medical visualization, Training and simulation, multimedia, entertainment, educational, and more.
There are three standard formats used for web 3D data as described by Web 3D consortium. One is VRML (virtual Reality modeling language) and the other is X3D.Also, it must be noted that VRML is soon to be replaced by the relatively new extensible 3D (X3D) file format. X3D is a software standard for defining interactive web- and broadcast-based 3D content integrated with multimedia (Web3D Consortium, 2004).
MPEG4 is another 3D standard used for integrating Video and 2D/3D graphics.
3. 3D CITY MODELS:
Use of 3D spatial information and thematic attribute information together with in a geographic database for a modern city is called 3D city model. A 3D city model basically, provides five different LoD (Level of Detail). (Thomas H. Kolbe et.al 2005)
- The coarsest level LoD0 is essentially a two and a half dimensional Digital Terrain Model, over which an aerial image or a map may be draped.
- LoD1 is the well-known blocks model, without any roof structures or textures.
- In contrast, a building in LoD2 has differentiated roof structures and textures. Vegetation objects may also be represented.
- LoD3 denotes architectural models with detailed wall and roof structures, balconies, bays and projections. High-resolution textures can be mapped onto these structures. In addition, detailed vegetation and transportation objects are components of a LoD3 model.
- LoD4 completes a LoD3 model by adding interior structures like rooms, interior doors, stairs, and furniture.
FIG1: LEVEL OF DETAILS 1(Thomas H. Kolbe et.al 2005)
The Web 3D Service is a portrayal service for three-dimensional geodata, delivering graphical elements from a given geographical area. In contrast to the OGC Web Mapping service (WMS) and the OGC Web terrain service (WTS) 3D scene graphs are produced. These scene graphs will be rendered by the client and can interactively be explored by the user. The W3DS merges different types (layers) of 3D data in one scene graph.
4.ADVANTAGES OF 3D CITY MODEL
When compared to 2D, in 3D we have following addition components
- 3D geometry of the features.
- Illumination effect on the feature
- Shadow model on the features
- Texture information
- Change of perspective
FIG2:2D AND 3D CITY MODELS 1 (Stephan Nebiker,2002)
5. APPLICATIONS:
Following are the applications of 3D city models to name few.
- Disaster management: Virtual 3D city models provide important information for different aspects of disaster management. First, they memorize the shape and configuration of a city. In case of severe destruction of infrastructure e.g. caused by earthquakes, immediate access to this reference data allows to quickly assess the extent of the damage, to guide helpers and last but not least to rebuild the damaged sites. (Thomas H. Kolbe et.al 2005)
- Urban Planning: 3D city models enable the planners to get realistic view of existing Infrastructure. So planning new design, infrastructure and facility services can be done in a better manner. (Shiode N. ,2001) Analysis of traffic flow, pedestrian patterns, zoning, land-use and special restrictions. Scientist can Simulate noise, heat and exhaust spreading in big cities using this information. Also it is useful in site location analysis, emergency facilities planning.
- Tourism: Reality-based 3D city model, combined with trees in 3D environment (DTM and orthophoto) can be web-streamed and optimized for the performance via Internet. The client (e.g. hotel or restaurant) can access their online administration page by using their username and password. They can manage entries (e.g. hyperlinks, promotion etc.) and keep the company data current, which makes this web-solution a powerful enterprise tool for tourism and marketing. (Kilian Ulm,2005)
- Navigation: 3D city models enable 3D visualizations and facilitate localization in indoor and outdoor navigation. Augmented reality systems provide helpers with information that is visually overlaid with their view of the real world. Such systems need 3D city models in order to compute the positions and occlusions of the overlay graphics. In Navigation and way finding, three-dimensional city model is connected to the map of the same area as the model describes and to the database, which includes information from the same area and also with GPS.The three-dimensional model appears to illustrate the motion and changing the location more clearly than two-dimensional map alone. (Teija Vainio, 2002)
- Telecommunication: Radio network planning process consists of dimensioning, coverage planning, capacity planning, frequency planning and parameter planning of radio network. Geographical information is closely related to all these processes. Radio technical prediction processes and analyses need 3D city models as input data and they also produce geographical output data. (Sonera,1998)
- Architecture: Architectural monuments are widely used and endangered by long term influences like traffic or air pollution or destructive events causing heavy damage like earthquakes, fire, war etc. But by all means when monuments are seriously damaged, or completely destroyed, the amount and quality of surviving documentation like 3D model becomes highly important. (Zaide DURAN, 2004)
Use of spatial data and GIS services has existed on campus for a number of years, originating primarily in 3D graphics and Games now extending their service to city models which is useful for several applications quoted above.
6.1 WHAT IS BUSINESS MODEL?
A business model is simply the architecture of a company and its network of partners for creating, marketing and delivering value and relationship capital to a global customer's base in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams.
6.2 WHO ARE ALL CUSTOMERS?
- Real Estate owners
- Tourism Department
- Navigation companies
- Mobile communication companies
- Architects
- Urban planners etc.,
There are several factors involved in estimating the cost of the product to be sold. In case of any GIS data Price model could be based upon the following factors
- DATA CAPTURING COST: A high cost associated with accessing and using 3D data
- DATA PROCESSING COST: This includes the cost derived from the Software and Hardware required to generate the 3D models from the captured data.
- DATA MAINTENANCE COST: This includes the cost related with the storage and exchange of data
- MAP SERVER COST: This is the cost to set up and serve the 3D city model on the web.
Following is the general overview on cost of web 3D data today for the city of Hamburg, Germany.
- Research projects and academic projects receive the 3D services for free. (some cases)
- The cost of data may be different depending on how the data are used by customers. Uses may include viewing, downloading, adding value and reselling products. Different levels or types of access to data can be used to structure a payment scheme. For example there may be open access, password protected members only access, viewing of low grade data for free with download or high quality data only possible after payment has been made, etc.
- Special cost for the different departments involved in development of the same city.
- For any services customer is charged e.g. 40 $ for every half an hour. For visualization the customer has to pay the prices according to size of the cost of the 3D data increases.
- For 4 km x 4 km Level 1 3D city model costs 150 $.
- Ground cost for the 3D videos is 360 $ and for the duration less than one minute 120 $ Euro per 10 sec. Then 25 $ per 10 sec from 1 minute.
- Ground cost for digital 3D building is 45$. Every building costs 2 $.
- In another example, the whole US data costs 5300 $, which is only Terrain data with low resolution.
In any case, Price model can be based on either Data capture cost or Application cost.
7.1 BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON DATA CAPTURE COST:
Cost of the Data is determined based upon the cost Data provider spent to capture and serve it. This is the most common method in Geodata business. For the above mentioned customers, possible Business model is illustrated in the Flow chart Business model based on Data capture cost
7.2 BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON DATA APPLICATION:
Cost of the Data can also be determined based upon value of that data to the customer or how much Customer is going to get profit from this data. For e.g. for private use like entertainment, customer will not get any money from the 3D data. For the cases of Tourism and Real estate, 3D data can be used to attract its Customers. So moderate cost can be fixed. But for the cases of Mobile network and Navigation high cost can be fixed, since those companies will get high profit from the 3D data. This is illustrated in the Flow chart Business model based on application
FIG3: MODEL BASED ON DATA CAPTURE COST
FIG4: MODEL BASED ON APPLICATION 1
8. CONCLUSION:
GIS services originating primarily in Urban Studies and Planning and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and now extending to other disciplines even in History and Political Science. In the similar way, Web 3d applications were initially started for Games and 3D Animations, now it is giving third Dimension to the GIS data. The increasing demand on Web 3D will shower lots of Business opportunities based on the discussed Business models.
REFERENCES:
- Quadt, U., Kolbe, T. (Eds), (2005) Web 3D Service, OGC Discussion Paper, Document OGC 05-019, Version 0.3.0, http://www.opengeospatial.org/specs/
- Bokhari, M. (2002) A Business model for the global GIS business environment, Directions magazine, Sep. 2002, http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=244&trv=1
- Narushige Shiode, (2001), 3D urban models: recent developments in the digital modelling of urban environments in three-dimensions, GeoJournal 52 (3), 263-269. http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/naru/publications/
- Kilian Ulm, (2005), 3D city model from Aerial imagery, GEOinformatics Jan/Feb 2005. http://www.cybercity.tv/pub/2005/
- Teija Vainio, Outi Kotala,(2002), Developing 3D Information Systems for Mobile Users, Nordichi 2002. http://portal.acm.org/
- Duran, Z., Toz, G.,(2002) Using 3D GIS for Documentation of Historical Monument, ISPRS Commission V Symposium Close Range Imaging, Long-Range Vision, Corfu, 2-6 sep 2002 ,p.354-359. http://atlas.cc.itu.edu.tr/~duranza/
- Stephan Nebiker(2002), Multi-scale representations for scalable and dynamic 3D geoinformation services, ISPRS/ICA Joint Workshop. http://www.ikg.uni-hannover.de/isprs/ppt-files/
- R. Dogana, S. Doganb, M. O. Altan , (2004) 3D VISUALIZATION AND QUERY TOOL FOR 3D CITY MODELS,ISPRS COMM III http://www.isprs.org/istanbul2004/comm3/+