2006-10-25
Template Error
Oh the joys of using the Beta Version of blogger... we have just accidentally clicked the template tag and over written all our style changes. If the blog looks a little wide/thin/odd we are working on getting it back to how it was...
Digital Urban Journal (?)
As technology moves at an ever increasing pace traditional paper based academic journals are failing to keep up. With over a 12 month waiting time to be published in the best journals, such as Environment and Planning B which is based here in CASA, by the time the paper comes out it is often out of date.A prime example of this is the latest 3D Modelling/Google Earth research. With API's changing on an almost monthly basis and new tools emerging all the time any paper reviewing the state of the art needs to published quickly and publications such as EPB or Computers and Environmental Systems simply cannot address this need.
Therefore we are thinking to resurrect the previous Online Journal at CASA - known as the 'Online Planning Journal'. It ran for 3 years from 1999 to 2001 during which a number of notable papers were peer reviewed and submitted. Papers in the field at that time were however few and far between, the research world has since changed and papers in the realm of Digital Urban are increasingly sort after. We will announce further plans as they develop, in the meantime if you are looking to publish a paper in a peer reviewed journal let us know via the email link on the side bar.
Over the coming weeks we will be revisiting some of the classic papers in the field, one notable example is Computable Cities by Professor Mike Batty of CASA. Published in the Online Planning Journal in 1999 it is the paper that led us to CASA and the current field of research. You can read the paper via the previous journal here, you can also check out the full list of articles.
If you would like to be involved in the Digital Urban Journal or would like further details then drop us a line.
2006-10-20
Modelling Newham - A First Look
At the moment the Virtual London team at CASA is busy working on a model of Newham high street for the local council.
We have already modelled London out to the M25 in both ArcScene and Google Earth, the challenge has been how to quickly take sections of the model and add in detail. Using a combination of LIDAR and ground based photography we have produced a work flow whereby we can now ensure height accuracy and begin to derive roof shapes.
The common route is of course over lapping stereo pairs to produce such models, but while this is a proven methodology it has known flaws. Hopefully, our method will ensure low cost modelling complete with facade details.
The movie is our first test output, detailing firstly a hidden line view and then moving on to the photo details. Further movies will follow in the coming weeks, at the moment this is good first look at hopefully where we are going with the model.
We have already modelled London out to the M25 in both ArcScene and Google Earth, the challenge has been how to quickly take sections of the model and add in detail. Using a combination of LIDAR and ground based photography we have produced a work flow whereby we can now ensure height accuracy and begin to derive roof shapes.
The common route is of course over lapping stereo pairs to produce such models, but while this is a proven methodology it has known flaws. Hopefully, our method will ensure low cost modelling complete with facade details.
The movie is our first test output, detailing firstly a hidden line view and then moving on to the photo details. Further movies will follow in the coming weeks, at the moment this is good first look at hopefully where we are going with the model.
2006-10-18
Virtual Tour from Romania
A slow down on our posts recently due to various on-going projects, the results of which we will be posting shortly. While pondering the future of virtual tours we got a email from Ovidiu Sopa who lives in Sibiu, Romania, detailing his first set of panoramas.
Inspired by some of the work on Digital Urban (its nice to know we have some readers!) he has used High Dynamic Range for each of his images and more interestingly rendered 3D spheres superimposed on each scene to provide links between each node.
The result is a stunning tour and well worth a look, you can check out his site from here.
If anyone one else has created a tour that stands out from the rest, let us know via the email link in the side bar.
2006-10-10
The London Lighthouse High Dynamic Range Panorama
Trinity Buoy Wharf, located in Tower Hamlets, London is home to London's only Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built not for navigation, as is normally the case, but as a testing rig for the lights developed by Trinity House for its network of lighthouses and lightships.The lighthouse was designed by Sir James Douglass, who also designed, amongst others, the Eddystone Lighthouse in Plymouth. Built in 1894 the workshops next to the main tower was used by Michael Faraday for his workshop experimenting in electric lighting on behalf of Trinty House.
The lighthouse is now home to the Longplayer Project. The Longplayer is a 1000 year long piece of music which started to play on the 1st January 2000 and will continue to play, without repetition, until the 31st December 2999, when it will come back to the point at which it began - and begin again.
If you wish to visit the lighthouse it is open to the public every first Sunday of the month, with views over the Millennium Dome and towards Canary Wharf it is well worth a trip.
You can view the 360 x 180 quicktime panoramas taken both Outside the Lighthouse (3.1Mb) and Inside (3.5Mb).
2006-10-09
Progress and Streaming Fish
At the moment we are working on a model of Newham as well as carrying on with our panoramic image capture.
Tomorrow we will have a series of panoramas of the London Lighthouse, captured in High Dynamic Range.
We are also setting up a streaming camera for future CASA seminars. At the moment its pointing at the fish tank in the office.. so while your waiting for updates sit back and watch the fish (Edit - this should now be working (?) 13.41pm October 10th)
Note this is a test using Windows Media player, we are not sure it works outside of UCL at the moment due to firewall issues.. if not the link takes you to the CASA site which contains a number of working papers which are well worth a browse....
Tomorrow we will have a series of panoramas of the London Lighthouse, captured in High Dynamic Range.
We are also setting up a streaming camera for future CASA seminars. At the moment its pointing at the fish tank in the office.. so while your waiting for updates sit back and watch the fish (Edit - this should now be working (?) 13.41pm October 10th)
Note this is a test using Windows Media player, we are not sure it works outside of UCL at the moment due to firewall issues.. if not the link takes you to the CASA site which contains a number of working papers which are well worth a browse....
2006-10-05
Virtual London Revisited
At the moment we are working on modelling around the London Olympic site for Newham Council - thus the lack of posts this week. We are close to finalising a work flow and from next week the modelling begins as proof of concept for rapid site visualisation.
Aimed at street level detail, combined with roof structures, and accurate height acquisition we will be posting examples over the coming days.
When starting a new project its worth looking back at previous work on city modelling. The movie below is the flythrough created with Steve Evans from CASA as part of the first demonstrator:
If we can match the quality of the first demonstrator and port it into various visualisation engines.. (?) Updates as soon as we have some output.
Aimed at street level detail, combined with roof structures, and accurate height acquisition we will be posting examples over the coming days.
When starting a new project its worth looking back at previous work on city modelling. The movie below is the flythrough created with Steve Evans from CASA as part of the first demonstrator:
If we can match the quality of the first demonstrator and port it into various visualisation engines.. (?) Updates as soon as we have some output.
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