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MODELLING OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTS 
Sandra Haydeé González García 3, *, Raúl Muñoz Salabarría 3 , Alián Mayet Valdés 3 , 
Dunia Suárez Ferreiro b , Bernardino Deni Díaz Rodríguez 3 
3 UCT GEOCUBA IC. Ciudad de La Habana. Cuba - (sandra;bdiaz)@geocuba.co.cu; (alian;munoz)uct.geocuba.'cu 
b Universidad de la Ciencias Informáticas (UCI) - dsuarezf@uci.cu 
Commission V, WG V/4 
KEY WORDS: Aerial photography, 3D City Models, Aerial photogrammetry, Spatial modeling, Geo-information management, 
Application, Software, GIS, Human Settlement, Visualization. 
ABSTRACT: 
As a result of creation and handling of 3D digital map, approach to geographic environment has been revolutionized rendering 
possible an upgrade dynamic and objective analysis and making-decision. Our work is based on Cartography from 
stereophotogrammetry first where a 3D environment is created allowing an analysis and management on an own system providing a 
highest knowledge on environments is became a top necessary for environmental studies in real time and for a global analysis of 
urban areas. Thematic items and urban projects are created master using this technology. Based on the above mentioned work a 
prototype and a methodology have been created in order to develop a base modelling of several areas projects. So, multimedia 
products and maps edition on WEB servers will be improved. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The level of optimization reached in the computation systems 
destined to manage graphic objects; the development of sensors 
of high resolution; the growing structure in anarchical urban 
environments and the interest in manipulating the information 
3D obtained by photogrammetric methods in order to facilitate 
the integral studies and the taking of decisions with more degree 
of objectivity and dynamics allowed to develop the Modulo3D 
application on the CartoSIG[2] system providing an enhancing 
to the quantitative as well as qualitative knowledge of the 
environment. 
The 3D models propitiate analysis on general situations with a 
better degree of comprehension and objectivity when recreating 
the complex study scenarios with an elevated degree of realism. 
The present work describes the structure of the created 
application considering the harmonic integration of the 3D 
information with other sources of data so as to arrive to an 
integral management of the geographical scenarios, allowing the 
dynamic connection between the different applications that 
integrate the system, manage the objects and navigate on the 
scene. 
Ml 
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LINK & ANALYSIS. 
u 
I 3D Vectorial Manipulation. 
Interaction and Navigation. 
Figure 1. General design of the Modulo3D application. 
The functions enunciated in figure 1 are carried out in the 
following way: 
The link is carried out through exchanging the information of a 
list, distinguishing the elements by its layers and trying to those 
owing description in the field of height. 
2. GENERAL COMPOSITION OF THE SYSTEM 
The Modulo3D application has been developed to work linking 
in real time with the model represented in 2D. 
The system loads the information coming from different sources 
and locates them in layers, with the possibility of being 
published. 
The visualization in 2D allows the work with a TOP view, 
where the datum keeps its height value, which is only 
manipulated by the 3D application. 
The general design of the application is shown in the figure 1. 
The consultations for the analysis are programmed on SQL, 
acting on the 3D and 2D environments. 
The three-dimensional vectorial manipulation of the 
corresponding elements of the layers of the relief type is 
triangulated to conform the surface, specifying the ranges and 
variety of colors in order to differentiate the unevennesses. The 
surface can be shown in mesh or continuous shading. 
The shape elements enter to the modeling process in charge of 
forming the structure of the objects on the scene starting from 
the vertexes that define its geometry to so as be transformed and 
simplified to primitive geometric forms.