January 13, 2021 – HERE Technologies, a provider of mapping and location data and related services and technology, has unveiled its high-fidelity, 3D models of 75 city centers around the world to give software developers the geospatial data needed to build real-world visualizations of cities.
The company noted several example use cases for its ‘HERE Premier 3D Cities’, such as:
- Enabling last-mile delivery drivers to navigate dense cities with maps that highlight precise building dimensions and entry points along their delivery routes;
- Providing those working in the entertainment industry with the building blocks for virtual site visits and seamless computer-generated imagery integration;
- Helping telecommunications companies to optimize their buildouts of 5G networks in 3D; and,
- Allowing urban planners and emergency responders to build digital twins for better land use analysis and disaster readiness simulations.
HERE added that current use cases of its platform include the Audi A8 luxury sedan’s modular infotainment platform (MIB2+), which integrates HERE’s 3D city models, providing drivers with the latest navigation user interface and lane-level guidance experiences.
According to the company, HERE Premier 3D Cities contain rich data layers and attributes that are aligned to physical geometry and terrain. Each structure is indexed, addressable, and accurate in terms of physical location, volume size, elevation and façade color.
“With the enterprise developer in mind, HERE has captured, indexed and mapped the world’s major road networks and urban centers in 3D,” said Jørgen Behrens, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at HERE Technologies. “We’re excited to see how these unique 3D city models open up a world of possibilities and value for businesses. They are the building blocks to create accurate, sub-meter augmented reality (AR) applications that are transforming supply chains, transportation and mobility networks, and overall consumer experiences.”
The indexed and addressable structures within HERE Premier 3D Cities allow developers to search and highlight individual buildings, attach additional metadata to the structures, and apply advanced rendering techniques including CGI applications.
The company states that HERE Premier 3D Cities are available in Cesium/OGC 3D Tiles to support seamless integration, with each kilometer of data stored in small-sized tiles for efficient streaming and rendering. Sample datasets of London, Berlin and Munich are currently available on AWS Data Exchange.
So far HERE has mapped 196 countries and collects more than 28 terabytes of terrestrial LiDAR data every day. HERE Premier 3D Cities are created with multiple sources – including LiDAR, optical and satellite imagery – as well as decades of cartographic expertise and AI/Machine Learning applications the company has developed to deliver its location-based services to enterprises. For more information on HERE Premier 3D Cities, please click here.
Image credit: HERE Technologies
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.