3D building modeling in LoD2 using the CityGML standard

Abstract

Over the last decade, scientific research has been increasingly focused on the third dimension in all fields and especially in sciences related to geographic information, the visualization of natural phenomena and the visualization of the complex urban reality. The field of 3D visualization has achieved rapid development and dynamic progress, especially in urban applications, while the technical restrictions on the use of 3D information tend to subside due to advancements in technology. A variety of 3D modeling techniques and standards has already been developed, as they gain more traction in a wide range of applications. Such a modern standard is the CityGML, which is open and allows for sharing and exchanging of 3D city models. Within the scope of this study, key issues for the 3D modeling of spatial objects and cities are considered and specifically the key elements and abilities of CityGML standard, which is used in order to produce a 3D model of 14 buildings that constitute a block at the municipality of Kaisariani, Athens, in Level of Detail 2 (LoD2), as well as the corresponding relational database. The proposed tool is based upon the 3DCityDB package in tandem with a geospatial database (PostgreSQL w/ PostGIS 2.0 extension). The latter allows for execution of complex queries regarding the spatial distribution of data. The system is implemented in order to facilitate a real-life scenario in a suburb of Athens.