Affiliation:
1. Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design, Cyprus
2. Maynooth University, Ireland
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors detail how six commercial products have sought to provide 3D spatial media solutions for the planning domain, and set out their own approach to developing an interactive, multi-platform city information model (CIM) for desktop/WebGL (on a PC), VR (HTC Vive), and MR (Microsoft HoloLens) for Dublin informed by user requirements elicited through interviews with professional urban planners. They demonstrate how a Unity game engine solution can be used to build and manage a multi-platform CIM project from initial stage to the final build. They discuss issues concerning the handling geographic data, data integration, UI development, multi-platform support, interaction types (controllers, gestures, etc.), and potential application. They present core interactive simulations, including shadow analysis, flood resilience, visibility analysis, importing building models, and run-time modeling tool, which are crucial for city information modeling.