Here Technologies, a developer of a location data and technology platform, has released high-fidelity, 3D models of 75 city centers around the world, in order to give software developers the geospatial data needed to build real-world visualizations of cities.
According to the company, each model contains rich data layers and attributes that are aligned to physical geometry and terrain. Each structure is indexed, addressable and accurate in terms of physical location, volume size, elevation and façade color.
“With the enterprise developer in mind, Here has captured, indexed and mapped the world’s major road networks and urban centers in 3D,” said Jørgen Behrens, SVP and chief product officer at Here Technologies. “We’re excited to see how these unique 3D city models open up a world of possibilities and value for businesses. They are the building blocks to create accurate, sub-meter augmented reality applications that are transforming supply chains, transportation and mobility networks, and overall consumer experiences.”
The company notes that the indexed and addressable structures within the models allow developers to search and highlight individual buildings, attach additional metadata to the structures, and apply advanced rendering techniques including CGI applications.
The cities are available in Cesium/OGC 3D Tiles to support integration and each kilometer of data is stored in small-size tiles for efficient streaming and rendering. Sample data sets of London, Berlin and Munich are currently available on AWS Data Exchange.
Here says it has mapped 196 countries and collects more than 28TB of terrestrial lidar data every day. It explains that the city models are created from multiple sources – including lidar, optical and satellite imagery – coupled with AI/machine learning applications the company has developed to deliver its location-based services.
