RAPID MAPPING OF THE 3D URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Miss T. J. Mason
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
Malvern Technology Centre
St. Andrews Road, Malvern
WR14 IPD, UK
Email: tmason@dstl.gov.uk
KEY WORDS: Urban, Mapping, Modelling, Three-dimensional, Environment, Photogrammetry
ABSTRACT:
The United Kingdom Armed Forces face an increasing requirement to accurately and rapidly map the 3D urban environment in order to
support a wide range of activities including active engagement of forces, counter terrorism and peace keeping measures. The challenges
faced by the UK Forces have resulted in a diverse range of mapping requirements that may overlap or differ significantly. This in turn
has generated a wide customer base. The initial requirement of this study was therefore to capture this complex and fragmented situation,
to define the needs and information requirements of urban data users and to bring together the relevant active work programmes to meet
these needs. A plethora of photogrammetric and remote sensing software tools are available to generate, render and analyse 3D urban
models. Thus a second requirement was to perform a review of applicable software tools, identifying their suitability for application to
defence tasks. The final aim was to assess the current capability within the UK user community to generate 3D urban datasets,
determining the tools used and whether there are any obvious gaps in capability that can be quickly and easily filled. This study gives an
overview of the current activities addressing urban mapping, as well as exploring the sources of urban mapping information. This
examination of existing capability, available solutions and future UK military requirements will help to shape future developments within
this field by advising UK procurement and research programmes for future years.
1. INTRODUCTION
It has been recognised that future warfare is likely to occur in
urban areas. Military operations are becoming increasingly short
term with the opposition usually having a significantly lower
capability, known as an asymmetric threat. Conflict often occurs
in urban areas where reduced forces can have more impact, for
example the use of snipers in buildings. Counter terrorism
operations often occur in urban regions where terrorists have
more cover and places to hide. The increasing proportion of
people living in towns and cities has caused expansion of urban
areas, with recent surveys suggesting that urbanisation is
increasing worldwide. Thus it follows that there will be an
expansion of military operations in urban areas.
Military operations are becoming increasingly varied with
traditional operations in denied areas now decreasing and
activities such as peacekeeping and stabilisation becoming more
common, as seen in Kosovo and Bosnia. Operations in accessible
areas give the opportunity to create more detailed three
dimensional 3D models using airborne Light Detection and
Ranging (LIDAR) or ground survey techniques.
Preparation for operations in denied areas may involve the use of
Virtual Reality (VR) or 3D models to allow activities such as
mission rehearsal and scene familiarisation. Being able to
visualise the battle-space prior to deployment can give
commanders the advantage of knowing what to expect and
identify possible areas of risk. The models can also be used to
plan access routes and provide pre-operation orientation.
Homeland defence is another key application of 3D urban
modelling, with models of major UK cities being developed to aid
in counter terrorism activities. These requirements differ from
previously mentioned operations, as the preparation time can be
variable. Models of high risk targets can be modelled in advance,
but it may still be necessary to produce data at short notice if an
unexpected area is attacked.
3D modelling and VR arrived on the public market a few years
ago. The commercial sector have been the primary driving force
behind this new technology, exploiting it for games and
entertainment, advertising and media business. The defence
community has seen these new developments as useful, but not
essential, with needs, risks and trade-offs (speed of production
versus accuracy and reality) not clearly defined.
There are many different types of 3D visualisation from prismatic
building block models, which extrude blocks from 2D building
footprints to fully rendered volumetric CAD models. Different
types of functionality are associated with different types of model,
for example, some offer analytical functions, others are generated
for aesthetic appreciation.
Although there is now significant technology to create 3D
models, a fundamental question that needs to be addressed is
whether these models offer more to the military user than
traditional 2D maps. A 3D model is simpler to interpret due to its
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