The City of Helsinki has created a 3D model of the entire city available for real-time streaming and viewing. Using technology from 3D specialist Umbra 3D, the city now has a 700gb texture-mapped 3D mesh usable as a reality model, deliverable as streaming data from a server.
The 3D reality mesh of the City of Helsinki covers more than square kilometers. (Source: Umbra 3D)
Helsinki’s reality mesh model is based on aerial photographs of the city taken in the summer of 2015. Helsinki generated an enormous point cloud, representing 50 square kilometers of the city, then processed that data into the 3D mesh.
The project goal was to make this open dataset available for anyone to use, but the sheer size and complexity of the 3D data presented an insurmountable challenge. At that point city officials reached out to Umbra about using its automated optimization on the dataset to make it easily deliverable. Umbra optimized the mesh using its fully-automated cloud platform. Now the entire dataset can be streamed to AR or VR-capable mobile platforms such as phones, tablets, headsets, and web browsers.
“This was really a new and unique project collaboration between Umbra and the City of Helsinki – combining game engines and the city’s own technology into the next-generation of city modeling,” says Jarmo Suomisto, Helsinki’s Project Manager for the 3D City Information Model. “Through this cooperation, this whole project has been made possible.”
A video of the content running can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2tjzZ3z.
Consilia Vektor comments
Some of the best use cases for 3D data is in fields not generally considered on the cutting edge, like city planning. This database of Helsinki sets the standard for cities around the world to follow.