Virtual Terrain Media Notes

Press Coverage

2006

• Virtual globes: The web-wide world, Declan Butler, Nature magazine, February 2006
  • Gives a good overview of the greatly increased public interest and exposure caused by Google Earth, some use by actual scientists, comparison to World Wind, and speculation about ESRI's response.
• Digital Reality: Comparing Geographic Exploration Systems, Matt Ball, GeoWorld magazine, January 2006
  • Brief comparison with some interesting details on Google Earth, Skyline, GeoFusion, ViewTec, World Wind, OGC, GeoTango, and ESRI.

  2005

• Open-source Visualization: Virtual Terrain Project, Ben Discoe, GEOconnexion International magazine, May 2005
  • an attempt to summarize the VTP (this website and associated software) and the larger context of open tools and open data in a print publication

Books

	Visualization in Landscape and Environmental Planning, Ian D. Bishop and Eckart Lange eds., 2005
	Trends in Real-Time Landscape Visualization and Participation, Proceedings at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences 2005
	Geo-Information Science and Digital Earth (地球信息科学与数字地球), Chen Shupeng, 2004 Reportedly, the book contains "an almost complete history and overview of developments in earth observation and geo-information science in China. However, this book on digital earth is much more global in its perspective and not limited to Chinese applications."
	Focus on 3D Terrain Programming, Trent Polack, 2003
	Landscape Modeling: Digital Techniques for Landscape Visualization, Stephen Ervin and Hope Hasbrouck, 2001
	Constructing the Future: nD Modelling, Edited by: Ghassan Aouad, Angela Lee and Song Wu, 2006 Although it focuses only on the 'built environment' and only partly about visualization, chapter 22. 'Modelling Cities' has a good history of that subject, esp. for European cities.
	Level of Detail for 3D Graphics, D. Luebke, M. Reddy, J. Cohen, A. Varshney, B. Watson, and R. Huebner, 2002.  Although it's a general book on LOD, chapter 7 is about terrain.  The site includes course material with excellent presentations.

Non-English language:

Modelli virtuali per la progettazione ambientale e territoriale, Empler, Bianconi, Bagagli 2006

Physical Output

• GeoSolutions Consulting
  • provides a service called Solid Terrain Modeling (STM) which will take a textured heightmap and produce a solid, physical model of it
  • they carve the models from high density polyurethane foam, up to several meters in length and width, and can print extremely detailed images using terrain-hugging inkjet print heads
• 3D Nature Scene Express
  • Capable of exporting STL and VRML to fabrication industry machinery such as that of LGM.
  • "LGM has two technologies.  One is a large gantry mill that carves out of blocks of polystyrene, up to 4ft by 8ft sheets and make as many sheets as necessary.  That machine does not do color, it's used for large models that will be landscaped by hand.  Their other process uses the Z-Corp rapid prototyping machines. These are an additive process that builds the model layer by layer by spraying a colored binder agent on top of a thin layer of a powder deposited evenly on the previous layer. The powder is a sort of plaster/cornstarch, and the binder is a glue agent emitted from 4-color inkjet heads that lay down the adhesive and color in one pass.  The Z-Corp machines can make models up to about 18" square."