| GISdevelopment.net ---> GITA 2001 ---> A Tangled Web of Pure Opportunity |
Virtual Reality and Distributed GIS
Panjetty Kumaradevan, Senthil Kumar
Iowa State University
246 N Hyland Aprt # 309
Ames, Iowa 50014
Panjetty Kumaradevan, Senthil Kumar
Iowa State University
246 N Hyland Aprt # 309
Ames, Iowa 50014
Introduction
Geographic information systems (GIS) are often referred to as computer systems capable of collecting, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, (i.e. data identified according to their locations). Basically, GIS depicts spatially distributed data as they would be shown on a map, a two dimensional surface, viewed from nadir via a high platform, with spatial objects represented by a mosaic of colors and patterns. The reason for the importance of GIS is that GIS technology is to geographic analysis what the microscope, telescope and computers have been to other sciences. GIS could therefore be the catalyst needed to dissolve the regional-systematic and human-physical dichotomies that have long plagued geography and other disciplines, which use spatial information. GIS integrates spatial and other kinds of information within a single system thus offering a consistent framework for analyzing geographic data. GIS makes connections between activities based on geographic proximity suggesting or showing new insights and explanations. The linkage between spatial and non-spatial, which often seems so obscure and distant, now makes more sense thanks to GIS. This in turn can be vital for understanding and managing resources.
As with any technology, even GIS cannot stand the test of time, and strains have begun to show on the “Core GIS”. The reason is that users have started bombarding GIS with more complex problems that conventional GIS finds hard to solve let alone interpret. One such example is the way current GIS visualizes terrain, upon which most GIS analyses are carried out. The land surface is undulating, objects viewed are three-dimensional and have characteristic structures that appear smaller in the distance, and features are located above, below and around the observer. Unfortunately all GIS simulations are visualized over a 2D representation of the terrain (spatial data). Recently, the 3D GIS capabilities added to GIS software have added more freedom to visualize the global and spatial data, but the fact remains that in the actual world humans view these features much differently. One such technology, which promises much more freedom and realism to the user, is Virtual Reality. It fully engages all the user’s senses and provides full interactivity and that too, in real time. Virtual environments provide greater immersion into the world or environment of scientific data, thereby enhancing the researcher's perception of its features and forms.
Virtual Reality is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. Virtual Reality is defined as a high-end user interface that involves real time simulation and interaction through multiple sensorial channels. These sensorial modalities are visual, auditory, tactile, smell, taste, etc. [Burdea, 1993- b]. It is clear that virtual reality is both Interactive and Immersive. These features are often referred to as the two I’s of virtual reality. Virtual Reality is not just a medium or a high-end user interface; it also has applications that involve the solution of some real problems in engineering, medicine, military etc. The extent to which simulation performs well depends very much on human Imagination, which forms the third “I” of VR and in the context of GIS, we can include one more “I” for Intelligent analysis.
Figure 1. Virtual Reality “Immersion-Interaction-Imagination-Intelligent Analysis”
Virtual Reality and GIS : Two Sides of a Coin
The concept of merging Geographic Information Systems and Virtual Reality into Virtual Geographic Information Systems (VGIS) has enjoyed increasing attention in the recent past. Virtual GIS has been defined as a highly integrated, efficient real time 3 D GIS for visualizing geographic data. In the journey from a 2D map to a more interactive 3D, GIS has no doubt served the user community well, but there is an increasing demand for better data handling and visualization using the recent developments such as Virtual Reality. On the other hand, Virtual Reality applications are also looking for potential applications, and since GIS captures and stores spatial data, it is not surprising that GIS is used as a test case.
Such a marriage between these two powerful technologies has its own share of problems even suggesting immediate divorce. The 3D GIS, which has come into play with decidedly more interactive rates for high resolution display than a 2D GIS, has large amounts of data that can be expected to grow by a factor of 100 (3D textures, photo textures, etc.). This makes visualization of data more difficult; the rendering algorithms have to be optimized to load only data that is actually visible. Due to the performance demands, the increased complexity and hierarchical organization of data, relational databases are no longer suitable to manage a 3D GIS database. VGIS manages its huge, complex terrain and GIS data sets at real time rates in an efficient manner by using hierarchical spatial data structures. Virtual Reality adds an important freedom for the user to visualize and interpret spatial data more effectively. A real time visual simulation in VGIS supports the accurate depiction of terrain elevation and imagery, in addition to features such as ground cover and trees, buildings, and static objects, roads, and atmospheric effects, thus adding new dimensions to the concept of simulation of real life situations. It adds a new dimension in the visualization of abstract variables (e.g., environmental variables such as pollution level) by reducing the level of abstraction. Virtual Reality improves the communication of ideas and concepts in a collaborative process. In the GIS realm, the goal is to support users who are “overwhelmingly map illiterate”. Here, VRGIS acts as a mediator and transmitter of ideas between participants. Thus, the marriage of the two technologies promises the much-needed relief for the demanding user. So researchers around the world, both at academic and industry levels, are feverishly working towards trying to integrate these two technologies together.
Work Being Done
This emerging technology, which has redefined the users concept of visualizing data, has been a hot topic of research. Successful attempts have been and are being made to merge GIS and Virtual Reality for a more interactive and user-friendly interface. The various research areas where VRGIS is being incorporated are Urban Planning, Environmental Planning & Impact Assessment, Scientific Visualization, Education (Virtual Field Course) and Military Simulation and Intelligent Application. The following pie chart shows the amount of work being done in various fields
Figure 2. [http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/virgin/cat/vrgisentfrm.htm]
There are a lot of working models of VRGIS with varying levels of complexity that have been developed. We can generally classify the research in VRGIS at two levels:
One such example is the Real Time 3D GIS for Military simulation developed by the Army Research Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology [Fig. 3(a), Koller D et.al.,]. Other very promising research is being carried out at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA Fig 3(b)) for examining the use of Virtual Reality interactive exploration of spatial data sets; here the focus is on the use of Java and Geo-VRML for geographic data simulation and visualization. Another project of particular interest to is the one done at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where the GIS visualization of geographic data was carried out using the CAVE Environment [Fig 3(c)]
Examples Of Low End Virtual Reality Interface
Most of the Research from the Industry comes in the form of low end so-called Virtual/3D GIS and some of the examples include: ESRI’s ArcView 3D Analyst [Fig 4(a)], which provides user with a simple 3D vector geometry and a interactive perspective view, and Pawan, a VRML compiler and project management system for MapInfo GIS [Fig 4(b)]. It is a software interface, which combines the utilization of virtual reality with spatial display capabilities of GIS. Prototypes of object oriented DBMS for handling large data sets and VR based visualization tools are combined for providing real time navigation of large worlds. (Pajorola et.al., 1994). A very interesting project is the KarmaVI system [Fig 4(c)], which is an application for modeling, manipulation and analysis of two and three-dimensional spatial (GIS) data within a Virtual Reality environment. It is based on existing GIS and VR technology that uses the three views: plan view, model view and world view to support design, development and presentation of large infrastructures plans in the Netherlands(Verbree E. et.al., Verzijl (1998)).
The Need for a Medium
Having established the Link between Virtual Reality GIS, now we look for a conducive medium to carry out this link and one such medium is the Internet. The Internet matured in the 1970’s as a result of the TCP/IP architecture first proposed by Bob Kahn at BBN and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others throughout the decade. It was adopted by the Defense Department in 1980 replacing the earlier Network Control Protocol (NCP) and universally adopted by 1983. As the commands for e-mail, FTP, and telnet were standardized, it became a lot easier for non-technical people to learn to use the nets. The development in 1993 of the graphical browser Mosaic by Marc Andersen and his team at the National Center For Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) gave the protocol its big boost.
Internet and 3D computer graphics have been around for over three decades, but it is only recently that technology has made possible their mutual interaction. Such technologies include Geo-VRML, JAVA3D and X3D.
Geo-VRML
Virtual Reality Modeling Language [VRML] is neither VR nor a modeling language. It is just a 3D interchange format to publish 3D WebPages. Geo-VRML 1.0 provides a suite of solutions for representing and visualizing geographic data using a standard VRML97 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) browser. VRML is an ISO standard file format for representing 3-D data over the web [VRML97]. It has the ability to represent spatial data in Lat/Long or UTM. The other features include extended precision, scalability, metadata support, animation, introspection and navigation. [Fig 5a) M. Reddy, et.al., 2000]
JAVA3D
The Java 3D API is an Application Programming Interface (API) used for writing three-dimensional graphics applications and 3D applets. It gives developers high level constructs for creating and manipulating 3D geometry and for constructing the structures used in rendering that geometry. Application developers can describe very large virtual worlds using these constructs, which provides Java 3D with enough information to render these worlds efficiently. Java 3D delivers Java's "write once, run anywhere" benefit to developers of 3D graphics applications. Java 3D is part of the Java Media suite of APIs, making it available on a wide range of platforms. It also integrates well with the Internet, because applications and applets written using the Java 3D API also have access to the entire set of Java classes. [Fig (5b) www.javasoft.com]
X3D
The VR community has recognized the growing success of XML, compared to the very limited success of VRML. In response, the Web3D Consortium (www.web3d.org), in concert with the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), has defined an XML-compliant 3D standard for the web: X3D ("Extensible 3D"). X3D extends the capabilities of VRML and provides a means of expressing the geometry and behavior capabilities of VRML using XML. It also allows programmers to bypass much of VRML 97, if they so desire. With X3D, VR display can take place under various "profiles". There is a "Core Profile" or API that implements minimum VR functionality. *
Programmers are free to create any number of other profiles that can plug into the Core Profile. The Core Profile is much lighter weight than the full VRML specification. Other optional profiles are implemented as software components to be downloaded as necessary. Thus, X3D defines a modular architecture with no huge, monolithic VRML plug-in to complicate usage, programming and innovation. With X3D, the user only uses the profiles needed to view the current content. Similarly, when content creators test their content, they only need to test with the profiles needed for that specific content, not with a massive VRML browser that may have many features. Fig 5(c)
Distributed Computing and Interoperability
The principle of distributed computing is to make more than one machine work on the same problem simultaneously, thereby reaching the desired result faster and more reliably than if relying on a single machine to produce the result. Some of the prerequisites that must be met are:
Distributed Virtual Reality
The idea behind distributed VR is very simple; a simulated world runs not on one computer system, but on several. The computers are connected over a network (possibly the global Internet), and people using those computers are able to interact in real time, sharing the same virtual world. In theory, people can be sitting at home in London, Paris, New York and Edmonton, all interacting in a meaningful way in VR. Each user in a persistent collaborative virtual environment is represented by an avatar, so that users at other sites in the same virtual environment know where they are and what they are looking at. A collaborative VR application sends tracker information of the user in the VR across the network; at the same time, it receives tracker information of other users in the same VR and displays the avatars at the right translation and rotation in the environment.
Figures 6 : Some Examples of Distributed Virtual Reality [http://www.evl.uic.edu/EVL/VR/networking.shtml]
One very good example is the Tele-Presence project done by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, UIUC(University Of Illinois , Chicago). When participants are Tele-immersed, they are able to see and interact with each other and objects in a shared virtual environment. Their presence will be depicted by life-like representations of themselves (avatars) that are generated by real-time, image capture, and modeling techniques. The environment will persist even when all the participants have left it. Another example is the Octopus from VRAC(Virtual Reality Application Center), Iowa State University. Octopus is a toolkit that provides collaborative environment support to virtual reality applications. The main advantage of Octopus is the dynamic connectionless network without any server dependency. This technology may, for instance, be used to carry out Interactive GIS Analysis or simulation without any location constraints. The planners may in be in Paris while the engineers are in Detroit. When the both parts are connected using virtual reality equipment, they could walk around the “analysis” and “point at areas” to better communicate their message.
Proof Of Concept: Building a Complete Virtual GIS
As a part of my ongoing research at Iowa State University, a typical GIS system and new technology are being combined to create a “GEO-Browser”. The basic goal of the project is to explore the potential of merging VR with GIS to develop a highly interactive user interface for multidimensional analysis and visualization of data in the field of natural resource management. To elaborate this, a case study that utilizes a large amount of multi dimensional data from the Walnut Creek basin in Iowa is performed.
Conclusion
GIS has been a very faithful tool for man to carry out many kinds of spatial analysis, But the time has come for a much-needed upgrade to all GIS systems. The upgrade to the current GIS system comes in the form of Distributed Virtual Reality where the user no longer uses the system but actually becomes a part of the system. The number of geographical information users has greatly expanded with the Internet explosion and it becomes only obvious that this technology transfer will occur through the Internet. But like most technologies, Virtual Reality, GIS and the Internet are continuously evolving and as these technologies emerge with time we can eventually expect to see the seamless integration of them all.
References:
Geographic information systems (GIS) are often referred to as computer systems capable of collecting, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, (i.e. data identified according to their locations). Basically, GIS depicts spatially distributed data as they would be shown on a map, a two dimensional surface, viewed from nadir via a high platform, with spatial objects represented by a mosaic of colors and patterns. The reason for the importance of GIS is that GIS technology is to geographic analysis what the microscope, telescope and computers have been to other sciences. GIS could therefore be the catalyst needed to dissolve the regional-systematic and human-physical dichotomies that have long plagued geography and other disciplines, which use spatial information. GIS integrates spatial and other kinds of information within a single system thus offering a consistent framework for analyzing geographic data. GIS makes connections between activities based on geographic proximity suggesting or showing new insights and explanations. The linkage between spatial and non-spatial, which often seems so obscure and distant, now makes more sense thanks to GIS. This in turn can be vital for understanding and managing resources.
As with any technology, even GIS cannot stand the test of time, and strains have begun to show on the “Core GIS”. The reason is that users have started bombarding GIS with more complex problems that conventional GIS finds hard to solve let alone interpret. One such example is the way current GIS visualizes terrain, upon which most GIS analyses are carried out. The land surface is undulating, objects viewed are three-dimensional and have characteristic structures that appear smaller in the distance, and features are located above, below and around the observer. Unfortunately all GIS simulations are visualized over a 2D representation of the terrain (spatial data). Recently, the 3D GIS capabilities added to GIS software have added more freedom to visualize the global and spatial data, but the fact remains that in the actual world humans view these features much differently. One such technology, which promises much more freedom and realism to the user, is Virtual Reality. It fully engages all the user’s senses and provides full interactivity and that too, in real time. Virtual environments provide greater immersion into the world or environment of scientific data, thereby enhancing the researcher's perception of its features and forms.
Virtual Reality is a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. Virtual Reality is defined as a high-end user interface that involves real time simulation and interaction through multiple sensorial channels. These sensorial modalities are visual, auditory, tactile, smell, taste, etc. [Burdea, 1993- b]. It is clear that virtual reality is both Interactive and Immersive. These features are often referred to as the two I’s of virtual reality. Virtual Reality is not just a medium or a high-end user interface; it also has applications that involve the solution of some real problems in engineering, medicine, military etc. The extent to which simulation performs well depends very much on human Imagination, which forms the third “I” of VR and in the context of GIS, we can include one more “I” for Intelligent analysis.
Figure 1. Virtual Reality “Immersion-Interaction-Imagination-Intelligent Analysis”
Virtual Reality and GIS : Two Sides of a Coin
The concept of merging Geographic Information Systems and Virtual Reality into Virtual Geographic Information Systems (VGIS) has enjoyed increasing attention in the recent past. Virtual GIS has been defined as a highly integrated, efficient real time 3 D GIS for visualizing geographic data. In the journey from a 2D map to a more interactive 3D, GIS has no doubt served the user community well, but there is an increasing demand for better data handling and visualization using the recent developments such as Virtual Reality. On the other hand, Virtual Reality applications are also looking for potential applications, and since GIS captures and stores spatial data, it is not surprising that GIS is used as a test case.
Such a marriage between these two powerful technologies has its own share of problems even suggesting immediate divorce. The 3D GIS, which has come into play with decidedly more interactive rates for high resolution display than a 2D GIS, has large amounts of data that can be expected to grow by a factor of 100 (3D textures, photo textures, etc.). This makes visualization of data more difficult; the rendering algorithms have to be optimized to load only data that is actually visible. Due to the performance demands, the increased complexity and hierarchical organization of data, relational databases are no longer suitable to manage a 3D GIS database. VGIS manages its huge, complex terrain and GIS data sets at real time rates in an efficient manner by using hierarchical spatial data structures. Virtual Reality adds an important freedom for the user to visualize and interpret spatial data more effectively. A real time visual simulation in VGIS supports the accurate depiction of terrain elevation and imagery, in addition to features such as ground cover and trees, buildings, and static objects, roads, and atmospheric effects, thus adding new dimensions to the concept of simulation of real life situations. It adds a new dimension in the visualization of abstract variables (e.g., environmental variables such as pollution level) by reducing the level of abstraction. Virtual Reality improves the communication of ideas and concepts in a collaborative process. In the GIS realm, the goal is to support users who are “overwhelmingly map illiterate”. Here, VRGIS acts as a mediator and transmitter of ideas between participants. Thus, the marriage of the two technologies promises the much-needed relief for the demanding user. So researchers around the world, both at academic and industry levels, are feverishly working towards trying to integrate these two technologies together.
Work Being Done
This emerging technology, which has redefined the users concept of visualizing data, has been a hot topic of research. Successful attempts have been and are being made to merge GIS and Virtual Reality for a more interactive and user-friendly interface. The various research areas where VRGIS is being incorporated are Urban Planning, Environmental Planning & Impact Assessment, Scientific Visualization, Education (Virtual Field Course) and Military Simulation and Intelligent Application. The following pie chart shows the amount of work being done in various fields
Figure 2. [http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/virgin/cat/vrgisentfrm.htm]
There are a lot of working models of VRGIS with varying levels of complexity that have been developed. We can generally classify the research in VRGIS at two levels:
- High End Virtual Reality Interfaces
- Low End Virtual Reality Interfaces
One such example is the Real Time 3D GIS for Military simulation developed by the Army Research Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology [Fig. 3(a), Koller D et.al.,]. Other very promising research is being carried out at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA Fig 3(b)) for examining the use of Virtual Reality interactive exploration of spatial data sets; here the focus is on the use of Java and Geo-VRML for geographic data simulation and visualization. Another project of particular interest to is the one done at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where the GIS visualization of geographic data was carried out using the CAVE Environment [Fig 3(c)]
Examples Of Low End Virtual Reality Interface
Most of the Research from the Industry comes in the form of low end so-called Virtual/3D GIS and some of the examples include: ESRI’s ArcView 3D Analyst [Fig 4(a)], which provides user with a simple 3D vector geometry and a interactive perspective view, and Pawan, a VRML compiler and project management system for MapInfo GIS [Fig 4(b)]. It is a software interface, which combines the utilization of virtual reality with spatial display capabilities of GIS. Prototypes of object oriented DBMS for handling large data sets and VR based visualization tools are combined for providing real time navigation of large worlds. (Pajorola et.al., 1994). A very interesting project is the KarmaVI system [Fig 4(c)], which is an application for modeling, manipulation and analysis of two and three-dimensional spatial (GIS) data within a Virtual Reality environment. It is based on existing GIS and VR technology that uses the three views: plan view, model view and world view to support design, development and presentation of large infrastructures plans in the Netherlands(Verbree E. et.al., Verzijl (1998)).
The Need for a Medium
Having established the Link between Virtual Reality GIS, now we look for a conducive medium to carry out this link and one such medium is the Internet. The Internet matured in the 1970’s as a result of the TCP/IP architecture first proposed by Bob Kahn at BBN and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others throughout the decade. It was adopted by the Defense Department in 1980 replacing the earlier Network Control Protocol (NCP) and universally adopted by 1983. As the commands for e-mail, FTP, and telnet were standardized, it became a lot easier for non-technical people to learn to use the nets. The development in 1993 of the graphical browser Mosaic by Marc Andersen and his team at the National Center For Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) gave the protocol its big boost.
Internet and 3D computer graphics have been around for over three decades, but it is only recently that technology has made possible their mutual interaction. Such technologies include Geo-VRML, JAVA3D and X3D.
Geo-VRML
Virtual Reality Modeling Language [VRML] is neither VR nor a modeling language. It is just a 3D interchange format to publish 3D WebPages. Geo-VRML 1.0 provides a suite of solutions for representing and visualizing geographic data using a standard VRML97 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) browser. VRML is an ISO standard file format for representing 3-D data over the web [VRML97]. It has the ability to represent spatial data in Lat/Long or UTM. The other features include extended precision, scalability, metadata support, animation, introspection and navigation. [Fig 5a) M. Reddy, et.al., 2000]
JAVA3D
The Java 3D API is an Application Programming Interface (API) used for writing three-dimensional graphics applications and 3D applets. It gives developers high level constructs for creating and manipulating 3D geometry and for constructing the structures used in rendering that geometry. Application developers can describe very large virtual worlds using these constructs, which provides Java 3D with enough information to render these worlds efficiently. Java 3D delivers Java's "write once, run anywhere" benefit to developers of 3D graphics applications. Java 3D is part of the Java Media suite of APIs, making it available on a wide range of platforms. It also integrates well with the Internet, because applications and applets written using the Java 3D API also have access to the entire set of Java classes. [Fig (5b) www.javasoft.com]
X3D
The VR community has recognized the growing success of XML, compared to the very limited success of VRML. In response, the Web3D Consortium (www.web3d.org), in concert with the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), has defined an XML-compliant 3D standard for the web: X3D ("Extensible 3D"). X3D extends the capabilities of VRML and provides a means of expressing the geometry and behavior capabilities of VRML using XML. It also allows programmers to bypass much of VRML 97, if they so desire. With X3D, VR display can take place under various "profiles". There is a "Core Profile" or API that implements minimum VR functionality. *
Programmers are free to create any number of other profiles that can plug into the Core Profile. The Core Profile is much lighter weight than the full VRML specification. Other optional profiles are implemented as software components to be downloaded as necessary. Thus, X3D defines a modular architecture with no huge, monolithic VRML plug-in to complicate usage, programming and innovation. With X3D, the user only uses the profiles needed to view the current content. Similarly, when content creators test their content, they only need to test with the profiles needed for that specific content, not with a massive VRML browser that may have many features. Fig 5(c)
Distributed Computing and Interoperability
The principle of distributed computing is to make more than one machine work on the same problem simultaneously, thereby reaching the desired result faster and more reliably than if relying on a single machine to produce the result. Some of the prerequisites that must be met are:
- The individual computers must be interconnected, preferably with high-speed networks
- There must exist an infrastructure to handle distribution and communication
- It must not be overly complicated for programmers to use the distributed system
- Large data set and multi-source data
- Performance
- Remote collaboration
Distributed Virtual Reality
The idea behind distributed VR is very simple; a simulated world runs not on one computer system, but on several. The computers are connected over a network (possibly the global Internet), and people using those computers are able to interact in real time, sharing the same virtual world. In theory, people can be sitting at home in London, Paris, New York and Edmonton, all interacting in a meaningful way in VR. Each user in a persistent collaborative virtual environment is represented by an avatar, so that users at other sites in the same virtual environment know where they are and what they are looking at. A collaborative VR application sends tracker information of the user in the VR across the network; at the same time, it receives tracker information of other users in the same VR and displays the avatars at the right translation and rotation in the environment.
Figures 6 : Some Examples of Distributed Virtual Reality [http://www.evl.uic.edu/EVL/VR/networking.shtml]
One very good example is the Tele-Presence project done by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, UIUC(University Of Illinois , Chicago). When participants are Tele-immersed, they are able to see and interact with each other and objects in a shared virtual environment. Their presence will be depicted by life-like representations of themselves (avatars) that are generated by real-time, image capture, and modeling techniques. The environment will persist even when all the participants have left it. Another example is the Octopus from VRAC(Virtual Reality Application Center), Iowa State University. Octopus is a toolkit that provides collaborative environment support to virtual reality applications. The main advantage of Octopus is the dynamic connectionless network without any server dependency. This technology may, for instance, be used to carry out Interactive GIS Analysis or simulation without any location constraints. The planners may in be in Paris while the engineers are in Detroit. When the both parts are connected using virtual reality equipment, they could walk around the “analysis” and “point at areas” to better communicate their message.
Proof Of Concept: Building a Complete Virtual GIS
As a part of my ongoing research at Iowa State University, a typical GIS system and new technology are being combined to create a “GEO-Browser”. The basic goal of the project is to explore the potential of merging VR with GIS to develop a highly interactive user interface for multidimensional analysis and visualization of data in the field of natural resource management. To elaborate this, a case study that utilizes a large amount of multi dimensional data from the Walnut Creek basin in Iowa is performed.
Conclusion
GIS has been a very faithful tool for man to carry out many kinds of spatial analysis, But the time has come for a much-needed upgrade to all GIS systems. The upgrade to the current GIS system comes in the form of Distributed Virtual Reality where the user no longer uses the system but actually becomes a part of the system. The number of geographical information users has greatly expanded with the Internet explosion and it becomes only obvious that this technology transfer will occur through the Internet. But like most technologies, Virtual Reality, GIS and the Internet are continuously evolving and as these technologies emerge with time we can eventually expect to see the seamless integration of them all.
References:
- Cruz-Neira C., D. J. Sandin and T. A. DeFanti (1993) Surround-screen Projection-based Virtual Reality: The Design and Implementation of the CAVE, in Computer Graphics - Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 93.
- Edward Verbree, Gert van Maren, Rick Germs, Frederik Jansen & Menno-Jan Kraak. , Interaction in virtual world views - Linking 3D GIS with VR.
- ESRI, (1997), Introducing ArcView 3D Analyst: Powerful Tools for Creating, Analyzing, and Visualizing Data in 3D on the Desktop, ARCNews, spring 1997.
- Gert van Maren and ir. Rick Germs. , A Virtual Reality Interface for the Spatial Database Engine.
- Koller, D., Lindstrom, P., Ribarky, W., Hodges, L., Faust, N. and Turner, G., Virtual GIS: A Real-Time 3D Geographic Information System, The Georgia Institute of Technology and the Army Research Lab.
- Leigh, J., Johnson, A., DeFanti, T., Bailey, S., Grossman, R., "A Tele-Immersive Environment for Collaborative Exploratory Analysis of Massive Data Sets", ASCI 99, pp. 3-9, Heijen, the Netherlands, June 1999
- Martin Dodge, Simon Doyle, Andy Smith & Stephen Fleetwood. , Towards the Virtual City: VR & Internet GIS for Urban Planning.
- M. Reddy, L. Iverson, and Y. G. Leclerc (2000). "Under the Hood of GeoVRML 1.0". In Proceedings of The Fifth Web3D/VRML Symposium. Monterey, California. February 21-24, 2000.
- Star, J. and J. Estes, Geographic Information Systems: an introduction, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1990.
- Verbree E. and L.D. Verzijl (1998) Integrated 3D-GIS and VR: Use of Virtual Reality and 3D-GIS within the Planning Process concerning the Infrastructure, in Proceedings of the 10th Annual Colloquium of the Spatial Information Research Centre, University of Otago, Dundedin.
- Van Maren G., Germs R., & Jansen F., Integrated 3D-GIS and VR: Design and implementation of the Karma VI system.