Displaying LiDAR Data for Interactive Web-Based Modelling of the Environment

The increasing commercial availability of highly accurate LiDAR scanning offers remote sensed data accurate enough for generalized and distant views of the environment. From this data, bare earth digital terrain models (DTMs) can be processed semi-automatically, then draped with aerial imagery. The paper describes an approach developed in the VEPs project that switches on the LiDAR data for trees and buildings removed from the DTM in the 3D Scene. This data can then be used to visually judge the appropriate height and form of buildings and trees. A set of web-based interactive tools have been developed to enable users to freely adjust the scale and mass of structures and vegetation to match the selected point cloud area, substantially improving the quality of presence and accuracy of the resulting model. Issues are raised in obtaining equally accurate data of what is proposed from Planners and Developers.