[Geowanking] rendered 3d scene

Thu Mar 3 10:31:02 PST 2011

David,

   I've actually got  a license for Surfer (I've used it to create 
contours, etc), but without an adequate DEM I'm not sure I'd be able to 
render a 3d scene.

   I've looked at Leveler (and other programs like it) in previous years 
for other projects and hadn't considered it for this one; building a 
model of the area (with vegetation, mountains, etc) may be a lot of work.

   Maybe the "solution" is to take a photo and draw a berm on it with a 
paint program.  Yuck!

Best Regards,
Brent Fraser

On 3/3/2011 10:30 AM, David Colleen wrote:
> Hi Brent
>
> Most of the GIS centric tools are rather poor at 3D. You might try Surfer
> http://www.ssg-surfer.com/ssg/product_info.php?products_id=135 as it is
> pretty simple to use and has a free trial. Even easier is Leveller
> http://www.daylongraphics.com/products/leveller/ which uses gray scale
> images to produce terrain plus they have a simple terrain sculpting tool.
>
> Professional 3D modelers would do this work in 3D Max or Maya but they are
> complex and expensive programs.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> David Colleen, CEO
> Planet 9 Studios
> 761 Kansas St.
> San Francisco, CA 94107
> (O) +1 415 348 1200
> (M) +1 415 254 2330
> www.planet9.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: geowanking-bounces at geowanking.org
> [mailto:geowanking-bounces at geowanking.org] On Behalf Of Brent Fraser
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 7:58 AM
> To: Brian Russo
> Cc: geowanking at geowanking.org
> Subject: Re: [Geowanking] rendered 3d scene
>
> Brian,
>
>     I could try the free trial of ArcGIS
> (http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis10/trial.html), but since we have
> access to only the Canadian 30m DEM data (too low res), I don't think the
> terrain modeling approach is the way to go.  I've used that approach in the
> past with VTP, and as long as your DEM and imagery are at a resolution
> appropriate to what you are trying to visualize, it can be very effective.
>
>     I don't think an engineering study has been done yet.  The range is on
> Crown (public) land, and I think the Club was just asking the Province if it
> would be ok with the concept.  If yes, then they would do the study and get
> formal approval.  Why the Province would ask for a rendering at this stage
> (if that's what they did) is a little confusing.
>
>     Anyway, the question of how to do the rendering (with no budget) was an
> interesting one.  Usually my tool set is very mapping biased, but because
> the desired end product is very simple (show a scene without the berm and
> one with the berm) in concept, it got me thinking about augmented reality
> (http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality), smart phones,
> close-range photogrammetry, Sketchup, GeoDesign, etc...
>
> Thanks!
>
> Best Regards,
> Brent Fraser
>
>
> On 3/2/2011 10:00 PM, Brian Russo wrote:
>> There are a variety of higher-end tools that can do this.. ArcGIS 3D
>> Analayst, World Construction Set/other 3D Nature products, most R/S
>> software (e.g. ENVI). I'm assuming you don't have these tools though.
>>
>> You could use 3DEM (no longer developed, but works okay last I checked
>> - http://www.visualizationsoftware.com/3dem).
>>
>> If you have any kind of spatial analysis GIS software you could output
>> a DEM with the suitable berm modifications. I've done this a lot for
>> cut/fill type of studies (typically related to modifications to
>> riparian systems for construction). It's really not that hard to do
>> though getting a decent elevation model can be challenging. If it's a
>> shooting range there should be an engineering study which would have
>> the suitable data, though data format may be a challenge if you don't
>> have the right software.
>>
>> /r
>>    - bri
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 6:45 PM, Roger Rayle<rmrayle at gmail.com>   wrote:
>>> Brent--
>>>
>>> Maybe this would work for you...
>>>
>>> 1. Overlay a higher-res aerial photo of the area onto Google Earth 2.
>>> Build a model of the berm using Sketchup and place it on Google Earth
>>> 3. Overlay some landscape photos of the site onto some "background
> fences"
>>> built with Sketchup
>>> 4. Take some screenshots.
>>>
>>> (I used something like this to depict some fence diagrams of
>>> lithology in Google Earth.)
>>>
>>> --Roger Rayle--
>>> rmrayle at gmail.com
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 4:13 PM, Brent Fraser<bfraser at geoanalytic.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> To all,
>>>>
>>>>    A friend of mine needs to submit a picture (rendering?) showing
>>>> how a proposed berm would look at a shooting range.  I'm getting
>>>> this third (or
>>>> fourth!) hand so I don't have any more details on the request.
>>>>
>>>>    My first thought was to use something like Google Earth and a 3d
>>>> model of the berm and take a screen snapshot when I maneuvered to a
>>>> viewpoint I liked.  But the available DEM and imagery are of such
>>>> low resolution it would not be adequate (and I think it violates the
> license agreement).
>>>> Similarly, unless I get much better DEM and imagery (and that's not
>>>> likely), terrain modelers like VTP (http://vterrain.org) or "terrain
>>>> capable" 3D modelers like Sketchup would not give enough detail.
>>>>
>>>>    So how about augmented reality?  I could take a photo of the area
>>>> using a smart phone, and maybe get position and orientation out of it
> somehow
>>>> (perhaps determine focal length too).   But I don't know of any FOSS
>>>> projects for rendering 3d models onto real photos.
>>>>
>>>>    Any ideas?
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Best Regards,
>>>> Brent Fraser
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>
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