KEY WORDS: 3D city model, urban planning, heat energy demand, energy systems, Agent-Based Modelling. ABSTRACT:Today's needs to reduce the environmental impact of energy use impose dramatic changes for energy infrastructure and existing demand patterns (e.g. buildings) corresponding to their specific context. In addition, future energy systems are expected to integrate a considerable share of fluctuating power sources and equally a high share of distributed generation of electricity. Energy system models capable of describing such future systems and allowing the simulation of the impact of these developments thus require a spatial representation in order to reflect the local context and the boundary conditions. This paper describes two recent research approaches developed at EIFER in the fields of (a) geo-localised simulation of heat energy demand in cities based on 3D morphological data and (b) spatially explicit Agent-Based Models (ABM) for the simulation of smart grids. 3D city models were used to assess solar potential and heat energy demand of residential buildings which enable cities to target the building refurbishment potentials. Distributed energy systems require innovative modelling techniques where individual components are represented and can interact. With this approach, several smart grid demonstrators were simulated, where heterogeneous models are spatially represented. Coupling 3D geodata with energy system ABMs holds different advantages for both approaches. On one hand, energy system models can be enhanced with high resolution data from 3D city models and their semantic relations. Furthermore, they allow for spatial analysis and visualisation of the results, with emphasis on spatially and structurally correlations among the different layers (e.g. infrastructure, buildings, administrative zones) to provide an integrated approach. On the other hand, 3D models can benefit from more detailed system description of energy infrastructure, representing dynamic phenomena and high resolution models for energy use at component level. The proposed modelling strategies conceptually and practically integrate urban spatial and energy planning approaches. The combined modelling approach that will be developed based on the described sectorial models holds the potential to represent hybrid energy systems coupling distributed generation of electricity with thermal conversion systems.
Contemporary development of computer hardware and software, WebGIS and geo-web services as well as the availability of semantic 3D city models, facilitate flexible and dynamic implementation of web applications. The aim of this paper is to introduce 4D CANVAS, a web-based application for dynamic visualization of 3D geospatial data for improved decision making in smart city applications. It is based on the Cesium Virtual Globe, an open-source JavaScript library developed with HTML5 and WebGL. At first, different data formats such as JSON, GeoJSON, Cesium Markup Language (CZML) and 3D Tiles are evaluated for their suitability in 4D visualization applications. Then, an interactive Graphical User Interface (GUI) is built observing the principle of cartographic standards to view, manage, understand and explore different simulation outputs at multiple spatial (3D surface of buildings) and temporal (hourly, daily, monthly) resolutions. In this regard, multiple tools such as aggregation, data classification, etc. are developed utilizing JavaScript libraries. As a proof of concept, two energy simulations and their outputs of different spatial and temporal resolutions are demonstrated in five Asian and European cities. Finally, the 4D CANVAS is deployed both in desktop and multi-touch screens. The proposed application allows easy integration of any other geospatial simulation results, thereby helps the users from different sectors to explore them interactively in 4D.
Visualization of underground infrastructure in an interactive 3D immersive environment is extremely important for efficient management of city’s infrastructure. This paper describes different geometric modelling approaches to illustrate appropriate visualization of such data. A multimodal prototype has been developed by exploiting different algorithms to render these invisible underground objects as part of an urban model. This prototype has been integrated in an immersive geographic information system (GIS), named MultiVis, for handheld iOS and Android devices. As a part of the study, three distinct strategies have been tested; the first is based on the use of transparencies to convey a sense of depth, the second relies on an image-space superposition of “ditches” on top of the rendered frame and the third is a world-space deformation of the elevation model that exposes the underground elements. Furthermore, a comparative user experience analysis of different techniques aimed to the geometrically accurate visualisation of utility networks and other underground facilities are performed and evaluated. It includes a set of user evaluations for different parameters of these techniques, which gives us an insight on how the proposed methods affect the experience and usability for technical and non-technical users.
This research explores the usage of freely available open-source resources for the deployment of a plug-in free web-application interface for 3D geospatial data to visualize energy related modelling and simulation results. Such plug-in free web mapping applications will be essential for future cartographic web applications as forthcoming web browsers will no longer support the usage and installation of those plug-ins used in the past. As a proof of concept, a 3D city model of the city of Karlsruhe in Germany consisting of over 87,000 buildings is used as a case study. This data set was compiled using OpenStreetMap data and outputs from energy simulation models. The CityGML format is used for data storage of this multi-domain data set. In order to ensure independence from browser plug-ins, HTML5 and freely available JavaScript libraries are used for the creation of this application. Multiple analytical cartographic and geospatial functions such as cartographic classification, attribute selection, descriptive statistics, spatial buffer analysis and the retrieval of modelling results from a PostgreSQL and PostGIS data infrastructure are implemented in this interface. This paper further discusses some case studies, future enhancement opportunities of the proposed interface and experiences gathered during the interface development process that would help other cartographers and GIScientists in developing future native 3D web mapping applications.
Abstract. Risk is a concept used to describe future potential outcomes of certain actions or events. Within the project "CEDIM -Risk Map Germany -Man-made Hazards" it is intended to develop methods for assessing and mapping the risk due to different human-induced hazards. This is a task that has not been successfully performed for Germany so far. Concepts of catastrophe modelling are employed including the spatial modelling of hazard, the compilation of different kinds of exposed elements, the estimation of their vulnerability and the direct loss potential in terms of human life and health.The paper is divided in two sections: First, an analytic framework for assessing the broad spectrum of humaninduced risks is introduced. This approach is then applied for three important types of human-induced hazards that are representative for a whole class of hazards: Accidents due to nuclear power plants (NPP) or air traffic, and terrorism.For the analysis of accidents, risk is measured with respect to getting injured or dying when living in certain buffer zones around hazard locations. NPP hazard expert knowledge is used and supplemented with observations on aging effects leading to a proprietary index value for the risk. Air traffic risk is modelled as an area related phenomenon based on available accident statistics leading to an expected value of risk.Terrorism risk is assessed by the attraction certain elements (like embassies in the case of conventional threats) display in the eye of potential aggressors. For non-conventional targets like football games, a detailed approach measuring their susceptibility to different kinds of attacks within predefined scenarios was developed; this also allows a ranking of attack modes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.