A Vector Data Model for Efficiently Rendering Large Vector Maps on Global 3D Terrain Surfaces

Abstract

Visualizing vector data on 3D terrain surfaces is a basic and essential function in 3D GIS. However, due to the complexity of vector data structures, efficient and effective organization of the vector data is a key issue for the efficient display of vector data in 3D. In this paper, we present a new Vector Tiled Pyramid Model to organize and manage vector data so that they can be visualized on 3D terrain surfaces more effectively. In the Vector Tiled Pyramid Model, vector data at different scales within the same geographical extent are stored as separate levels. Each vector level in our proposed model is divided into vector tiles of fixed sizes organized in a grid index. This improves the efficiency of visualizing vector data on 3D terrain surfaces. Preliminary experimental results suggest that the proposed Vector tiled Pyramid Model, compared with the traditional vector database scheme, can help us to visualize vector data on 3D terrain surfaces more efficiently. In addition, this advantage is more evident when a vector tile at a lower level (large-scale) is requested and visualized on 3D terrain surfaces.