A Processing Pipeline for X3D Earth-based Spatial Data View Services

Abstract

Over the last years, a high demand for scenario-specific visualizations of 3D urban models has evolved. At the same time, established service specifications do not yet provide the means to define 3D map products and to deliver them in suitable formats, since they are focused on traditional 2D map products. In this paper, we present an approach for the definition of a 3D urban model view service. This approach consists of a three-step process, in which original geodata is integrated, filtered and then transformed into various scene graph formats such as X3D. We were able to maintain a high degree of compatibility with existing services and specifications such as Styled Layer Descriptors and the Web Map Service interface. The paper concludes with the experiences gathered from implementing and using this approach and provides an outlook as to how the lessons learned can be used in application and standardization.