Animation of Landscapes Using Satellite Imagery

Abstract

The paper presents methods to animate synthetic landscapes. The modeling of the landscape, the interactive specification of the flight path and the simulation of an explosion are described. The landscape is visualized by superimposing texture information computed from different satellite data onto a digital elevation model. A pyramid data structure is used to store the texture and digital elevation model data in different resolutions. This approach allows the generation of pictures with constant data density in an efficient way. The flight path is modeled interactively using a wireframe representation of the landscape. An explosion is simulated using physically modeled trajectories of the exploding parts. The approach is explained in the context of the “ERZBERG” animation in which an impressive flight through a valley towards the exploding Erzberg mountain has been generated.