Abstract

Exploring City Engine in an Immersive Virtual World
Track: 3D GIS
Authors: Frank LaFone, Trevor Harris

A procedural rule-based City Engine, coupled with the geoprocessing and display capabilities of 3D Analyst, promises substantial opportunities to advance 3D GIS. These advances are most likely to be seen in urban environments and support ongoing initiatives in Digital Cities and GeoDesign. This presentation describes the application of City Engine in an Immersive Virtual Reality CAVE environment. The immersive capabilities of a CAVE far exceed that provided by flat screen or stereo projection in that the user is fully immersed within the virtual world. Instead of looking at a scene, the user is immersed within the image and can fully interact with that scene. The presentation discusses the use of City Engine and 3D Analyst in the CAVE in terms of 1) educational uses experienced in teaching an advanced class in 3D GIS in the CAVE and 2) the research potential of a CAVE enabled immersive 3D world.