Implementation of an open platform for 3D spatial information based on WebGL

Abstract

VWorld is run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of South Korea and provides national spatial information, such as aerial images, digital elevation models, and 3D structural models. We propose herein an open platform for 3D spatial information based on WebGL using spatial information from VWorld. WebGL is a web‐based graphics library and has the advantage of being compatible with various web browsers. Our open platform is also compatible with various web browsers. Accordingly, it is easily accessible via the VWorld site and uses the three‐dimensional (3D) map program. In this study, we describe the proposed platform configuration, and the requests, management, and visualization approaches for VWorld spatial information data. Our aim is to establish an approach that will provide a stable rendering speed even on a low‐end personal computer without a graphics processing unit based on a quadtree structure. We expect that users will be able to visualize 3D spatial information through the VWorld open platform, and that the proposed platform will become the basis for various applications.

Spatial Information Platform with VWorld for Improving User Experience in Limited Web Environment

“…The basic function of the VWorld platform is to search and request for the sectors rendered on the screen according to the position and direction of the camera as controlled by a user. Every frame of the downloaded data is then rendered and displayed on the screen [5]. By classifying and constructing the data based on sectors having geometric information, it is possible to efficiently manage various types of large-capacity spatial information data.…”

“…Three vertices are required to define a mesh. In the implemented spatial information platform, the vertex coordinates have a 3D coordinate system based on the XDO coordinate system, as shown in Figure 10a [5,26].…”

“…To define this model using the index array, a total of 96 index values are required to define the 32 triangular meshes. The latitude and longitude coordinates are transformed into the 3D coordinate vector v based on the XDO coordinates system [5]. Earth is assumed to be a sphere in the XDO coordinate system.…”

“…Since the misuse of VWorld data could cause a security threat, editing and redistributing it for proprietary purposes are prohibited by law. Figure 1 shows the proposed WebGL-based VWorld spatial information platform service site [4,5]. Users can control the camera to render 3D terrains and buildings from various angles.…”

“…Major browser vendors Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Edge), and Mozilla (Firefox) are members of the WebGL Working Group [7][8][9][10][11]. The proposed WebGL-based platform is cross-platform compatible and has been tested on at least nine web browsers and four or more operating systems [5]. This paper contributes to solving two major problems through the implementation of a 3D map platform based on the web browser environment.…”