Modelling and managing topology in 3D geoinformation systems

Abstract

Modelling and managing topology in 3D GIS is a non-trivial task. The traditional approaches for modelling topological data in 2D GIS cannot be easily extended into higher dimensions. In fact, the topology of real 3D models is much more complex than that of the 2D and 2.5D models used in classical GIS; in consequence there is a great number of different 3D spatial models ranging from constructive solid geometry to boundary representations. The choice of a particular representation is generally driven by the requirements of a given application. Nevertheless, from a data management point of view, it would be useful to provide a general topological model handling 2D, 2.5D and 3D models in a uniform way. In this paper we describe concepts and the realisation of a general approach to modelling and managing topology in a 3D GIS based on oriented d-Generalised Maps and the closely related cell-tuple structures. As an example of the applicability of the approach, the combination of a group of buildings from a 3D city model with the corresponding part of a 2D city is presented. Finally, an outlook to ongoing research is given in the context of topological abstraction for objects represented in multi-representation databases.