Pervasive Cityscapes for Visual Exploration on the Internet and Mobile Platforms
This work achieves full registration of scenes in a large area and creates visual indexes for visualization in a digital city. We explore effective mapping, indexing, and display of scenes so that an area becomes “visible”. Users can virtual navigate city on the Internet and achieve real guidance with a PDA. Extended images such as route panoramas, scene tunnels, panoramic views and spherical views are acquired in an urban area and associated with geospatial locations. A 3D LIDAR elevation map is used to generate a scanning plan based on visibility, image properties, and importance of scenes. Scanning scenes along streets and at spots of interest allows for compact and complete visual data collection. To access city information, visual indexes from scenes to spaces are created pervasively for flexible space exploration and transition. To visualize a space seamlessly in a large view frame and synchronize scenes with the virtual movement in the map, we stream image data on the Internet. An engine is developed for continuous space traversing, accessing spatial information, and transiting between spaces through visual links. A real urban area has been modeled to verify the effectiveness of such a system. 

Panoramic View

 Employing extended image media such as panoramic view and route panorama 

Comprehensive indexing of spaces through visual links

Omnidirection View


Panorama


VRML 3D Map

 Visual information streamed on the Internet for space traversing

Data stored in portable devices for on site area guidance


Route Panorama

Demonstrations

 

Publications
J. Y. Zheng, Y. Zhou, P. Mili, Scanning scene tunnel for city traversing, IEEE Transaction on Visualization and Computer Graphics. Vol. 12, no. 2, 155-167, 2006.

J. Y. Zheng, M. Shi Mapping cityscapes into cyberspace for visualization, Journal of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, Vol. 16, No.2, 97-107, 2005.

J. Y. Zheng, X. Wang, Pervasive views: area exploration and guidance using extended image media, ACM Multimedia Conference 2005, pp. 986-995, Singapore, 2005.