Integrating 3D Functionality into a Web Application for Sharing Geo-information

Master thesis (2024)

Authors

S. Köbben Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

B.M. Meijers Digital Technologies - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
E. Kalogianni Digital Technologies - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Web Application User-centered design Geographic Information Systems 3d geodata
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Published Date

18-06-2024

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

Geo-information has many applications in various sectors and is used by public agencies as well as the private sector. A key method for sharing and visualising geo-information is
through web viewers. Extensive infrastructure exists for creating web viewers to publish 2D geo-information without the need of coding, much of which is based on OpenLayers.

3D geo-information is becoming increasingly important for many use cases, such as urban planning, asset management, and disaster management. Consequently, there is an increasing need to publish 3D geo-information in web viewers without the need of coding. Since applications to do this for 2D geo-information are widely in use, it would be useful to be able to effectively integrate 3D functionality into an existing application.

This research investigates the needs for integrating 3D functionality into an existing OpenLayers based GIS web application that allows the user to publish geo-information in web viewers. This includes both the technical needs, e.i. how to integrate the necessary code, and the user needs, e.i. what features does the user need to make the application useful and user-friendly.

A proof of concept was developed to investigate the technical needs. The proof of concept is an extension of the existing application Tailormap. Tailormap is based on OpenLayers and allows users to publish geo-information in web viewers without the need of coding. 3D functionality is integrated into Tailormap to allow the users to publish 3D vector data, such as buildings, alongside 2D OpenLayers maps. This integration was achieved by incorporating Cesium functionality to load and visualise 3D Tiles datasets.

To ascertain the user needs, interviews were conducted with Tailormap users and the created proof of concept was tested with them to gather feedback. The interviews and testing sessions revealed that the most critical type of 3D data for publishing in a web viewer was vector data, specifically buildings. Furthermore, specific functions were identified that make the application useful for the users.

The developed technical methodology and the identified user needs are primarily applicable to integrating 3D functionality into Tailormap but can also serve as guidelines for integrating 3D functionality into other OpenLayers-based GIS web applications for publishing geo-information in web viewers.