Hassan Sadiq

Three-dimensional data is increasingly becoming available from a wide range of sources. With numerous industries benefiting from its presence, it is not surprising to see how it is being incorporated beyond the usual applications that it used to be utilised for before. Below are some of the 3D data that are being explored in the three-dimensional platform.

Integrated mesh

This type of data is usually captured through an automated process for the construction of 3D objects that come from the overlapping imageries of large sets. The result then combines the original image information as a mesh that is textured through an interlaced triangular structure. This data can be used to represent both natural and built 3D features. This includes trees, building walls, cliffs, and valleys along with realistic textures. This can even include information on elevation. Scene layers that used integrated mesh are often created for the purposes of citywide mapping.

Lidar

Also referred to as light detection and ranging, it is a technique that uses optical remote sensing while using laser light in order to get the surface of the earth densely sampled. This is aimed to produce accurate measurements. It is primarily utilised in maser mapping applications that are airborne. It is an emerging alternative to the usual surveying techniques like photogrammetry and it is a cost-effective one too. The data sets that Lidar produces can be visualised, managed, analysed, and even shared.

Drone imagery

The past few years have seen an increase in the use of drones when it comes to capturing images for various local areas. Instead of the traditional ways that people gather imagery for settings that need to be mapped that were not as efficient and were quite costly too, drones are fast becoming more common these days. The fact that they are now able to capture high-resolution images make them a huge favourite in the industry too. Images that are taken from drones are usually tagged with specific geographic information. This details where the image was taken which means that it is then ready to use in various applications. This allows the users to view the raw images taken by the drones on an actual map. At the same time, it also allows one to create a two-dimensional map and three-dimensional scenes out of the images.

When it comes to the world underneath, navigation is presently disabled. This is to ensure that accidentally zooming in on a 3D scene’s ground surface is going to be prevented. This is also to help avoid becoming disoriented too. However, for those instances where the scene does need data and information that presently belongs underground as in the case of subsurface geological bodies and utility pipes, then this capability can just then be enabled for the three-dimensional scene.

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3D mapping has revolutionized the way civil engineers perform their jobs these days. It has certainly reduced the time that these professionals usually need to design, maintain, or analyse an infrastructure. The same is true when it comes to implementing changes. Intelligent 3D models that are rich in information are able to span the entire lifestyle of an infrastructure. This includes covering not just the planning stages but its operation and succeeding maintenance as well.

If there is one thing that civil engineering professionals can get out of the use of this technology it is that it allows them a better understanding of the performance of their project. The technology, after all, allows for faster responses to changes and is able to maintain data more consistently.

Accomplishing more with 3D models

Professionals in the field use 3D mapping when it comes to surveying, designing, analysing, drafting, documenting, as well as defining workflows in every civil project. It is useful in corridor designs, layout for rail tracks, bridge modelling, as well as geotechnical modelling.

Civil engineers are able to transform their design models through its use with the help of surface modelling visualizations, base map creation, as well as reality capture. The use of 3D mapping allows for the optimisation of project performance too.

Simplifying base map drawings

Base map drawings used to be a very time-consuming part of any civil project. The processes involved are aplenty. The fact that it needs a wide variety of data means that it can be a real challenge to have all of the information reflected onto the base map precisely and accurately.

The presence of 3D mapping ensures that the data types can now be easily connected to form the base map drawing. Gathering information becomes so much easier such as in the case of soil types, centre lines along the road, zoning limits, boundaries, contours, control benchmarks, as well as aerial photographs that are high resolution.

More efficient site inspections

With drones being majorly used to capture images and data on the air, site inspections no longer have to suffer from the usual issue of shadowing caused by any nearby object. Scans are quicker and very cost effective too. Today, field engineers utilize drones to carry out inspections in their various sites and locations. This is most useful especially in sites that are much larger in scale or in those areas where access may be restricted or security may be a little questionable.

Designers of 3D mapping and modelling promise that there is more that can be expected from the industry. In the future, drones should already have the ability to scan clouds as well as scan volumetric items in sites. It can also be fashioned to help assess the health in a construction site which can, in turn, help better look after construction workers.

Some people might be quick to say that both 3D mapping and 3D modelling are the same, but they are not. While it is true that there is some form of overlap when it comes to the solutions and technology between the two, they certainly do have considerable differences especially when it comes to how they are executed as well as in the resulting outcome.

It is safe to say that there is no scientific difference between the two. However, when one views a map, he will see that it is flat, which makes it two-dimensional. Through the use of modelling technology, it is easier to get the results converted from a flat map to one that is going to be triangulated where the viewer gets to see facades.

What is 3D mapping?

Most of the drone companies that are involved in photogrammetry refer to the flat map as 3D mapping. This is because the creation of a map that is accurate through the use of aerial photographs provides a result that definitely does not look like the usual maps of lines and dots that most people have been used to seeing in the past.

The resulting map is an image of a terrain, a precise one. This includes the natural components and the buildings that make up the terrain. It will give the viewer a sense of depth and size. It is usually combined with other details such as industry-specific information or thermograph data to make it an actionable tool.

Orthomosaics and photogrammetry are used to create 3D maps. This is what results in maps that are accurate and are easy to use for a number of applications such as urban planning, surveying, construction, as well as land management.

What is 3D modelling?

The required equipment for this particular process is pretty much the same. But the drone operators that are aiming to create a 3D model will have to take oblique shots to make sure that there will be images of facades. A modelling software is then used to create realistic fly-through videos or 3D models.

3D modelling is useful or a number of purposes. For commercial purposes, it can be used in real estate or it can also be used to come up with maps that are more creative. Today, more and more people are opting to go beyond 3D mapping and want to take advantage of 3D modelling. There is more interest in 3D modelling thanks to the fact that it provides a detailed and precise look into the elements that make up the map. What used to be ubiquitous maps that are flat and strictly in 2D can now be transformed in a way that will allow users to have the experience of being physically there and actually walking the streets as they explore around. They can even be made to be more interactive.