Formulation of hierarchical framework for 3D-GIS data acquisition techniques in context of Level-of-Detail (LoD)

Two-Dimensional Geographic Information Science (2D GIS) development has reached its highest level in terms of acquisition, processing, analysis and presentation techniques. Further development in 2D GIS is restricted due to its 2D abstraction of real world objects which are having third dimension (3D) in practical world. The abstraction of 3D real world objects is of extreme importance for user applications to address issues related to infrastructure development, entertainment, tourism, sustainable management of cultural sites and to tackle effects of various social and environmental factors. Hence, formulation of mechanism to model 3D real world objects and its phenomena especially related to urban segment from data acquisition and analysis perspective is essential. The 3D GIS data acquisition techniques such as Satellite Photogrammetry, LIDAR data processing, Building structure extraction algorithms, Close-Range Photogrammetry and total station survey contribute significantly towards generation of 3D digital models. Most of 3D GIS analysis largely depends upon 3D data structure and on data acquisition mechanism in particular. The structured way of data acquisition facilitates encoding of same into common information model which further aids in complex GIS analysis. Therefore, this paper proposes a structured mechanism for data acquisition in context of hierarchical framework of Level-of-Detail (LoD).