A Formalized 3D Geovisualization Illustrated to Selectivity Purpose of Virtual 3D City Model

Virtual 3D city models act as valuable central information hubs supporting many aspects of cities, from management to planning and simulation. However, we noted that 3D city models are still underexploited and believe that this is partly due to inefficient visual communication channels across 3D model producers and the end-user. With the development of a formalized 3D geovisualization approach, this paper aims to support and make the visual identification and recognition of specific objects in the 3D models more efficient and useful. The foundation of the proposed solution is a knowledge network of the visualization of 3D geospatial data that gathers and links mapping and rendering techniques. To formalize this knowledge base and make it usable as a decision-making system for the selection of styles, second-order logic is used. It provides a first set of efficient graphic design guidelines, avoiding the creation of graphical conflicts and thus improving visual communication. An interactive tool is implemented and lays the foundation for a suitable solution for assisting the visualization process of 3D geospatial models within CAD and GIS-oriented software. Ultimately, we propose an extension to OGC Symbology Encoding in order to provide suitable graphic design guidelines to web mapping services.