Arial Photographs + Terrain models

[Dave Jones]

Hi,

 

I have used arial photographs purchased from http://www.getmapping.com for a number of projects to show proposed schemes in context. This has always involved "guessing" levels etc for the surrounding area of the site when creating a mesh.

 

Has anyone else used getmappings new service, (or an equivalent service outside of england) which provides a digital terrain model in ASCII format, i assume this is effectively dxf format. I am intersted to know how it's been used and the results etc.

[Ernest Burden III]

The United States Geological Survey - USGS has a lot of data in various formats to provide mapping and terrain data. It comes in a confusing mess of filetypes, and while there are translators available for free, it can be a lot of work. But the data is there. I bought a set of contour maps of the US from DeLorme on CDs a few years ago. I will not output a 3D skin, but now there are similar products that do. I should look into getting one, because, as I said, the base data is already in place. It's easier for me to buy a pagaged product than to wade through it all myself.

 

There would likely be a similar service for the UK, and other parts of the world.

 

There are some website devoted to GIS stuff, and I visit them from time to time.

 

I have used aerial photos mapped onto surface models of a large area to do animation, it works very well.

[graphix]

I get my terrains from http://www.mapmart.com . The 30 meter DEM files work a treat. And you can usually download the files after ordering very quickly(under 24 hours). Also the have lots of other useful tidbits to order.

 

 

graphix

[mbr]

http://www.u-data.com/lb_index2.html these looked pretty interesting. I was going to try and use one of their city models, but it ended up costing too much.

It should be interesting to see how this area evolves.