OpenStreetMap

3D models in OSM?! 3D Model Repository has just launched!

Posted by n42k on 21 March 2018 in English. Last updated on 22 March 2018.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of the 3D Model Repository, available at https://3dmr.eu!

The main aim of the project is to enable a better 3D rendering of OSM data, placing 3D models at everything from landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower, to benches on the street.

Starting off from my Google Summer of Code project, over the past few months, along with my mentors, Jan and Tobias, I have been working hard on setting up the infrastructure required for the launch, namely a web server and the domain, which have been warmly provided by FOSSGIS. Along with this, some new features and bugfixes were added to the repository, including a PR by dkiselev. Finally, the last few miscellaneous issues before the launch have been resolved, and a few sample models were added to the repository.

On the renderer side, -karlos- has been making great progress with OSM go, having provided us with an easy way to show off the features of the repository. An example rendering can be seen here or in the picture below.

Screenshot of OSM go showing the benches in Viana

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome, in any form! There’s several ways to contribute to the repository, such as modelling or developing. If you know how to use Blender or SketchUp, you can get started right away modelling features of your town, consult the wiki for more information. Otherwise, if you’d rather develop, you can implement the repository in a 3D renderer (more information available on the wiki and the API documentation), or add new features to the repository itself (a Gitlab repository is available). Other than that, if you have any other idea, make sure to get in contact.

Hope to see your additions!

Discussion

Comment from Omnific on 22 March 2018 at 22:16

Looks fantastic! The live previews of the models on the website is a great touch. Really hoping we see some contributions from the talented modelers in our community, since we are really lacking in real 3D models versus all the commercial maps. As someone who’s used OSM in Paris, a real model of the Effiel Tower would have been great, and as someone that’s tried to model the Seattle Space Needle using standard OSM 3D nomenclature, this would be way better.

Comment from n42k on 22 March 2018 at 22:28

Thanks for your comment, Omnific!

Indeed, while for most buildings the standard OSM 3D tags are perfect to display an acceptable visualization, for more complex buildings like the Space Needle, they leave much to be desired. The main purpose of the repository is to allow exactly that!

Talking about the Eiffel Tower, -karlos- is currently working on putting it on OSM go (https://osmgo.org/go.html?lat=48.857202707673856&lon=2.294501066207886&dir=0&view=-10&ele=101&user=user). The old Eiffel Tower model just needs to be removed.

As a side note, thank you for reminding me about the Space Needle! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Seattle.

Comment from -karlos- on 23 March 2018 at 22:41

The next model is on the way. Training and fine tuning the repository: https://twitter.com/osm__go to follow the proccres. nr_7

Comment from n42k on 25 March 2018 at 19:10

Great work, -karlos-! Does OSM go show the models as soon as you tag them in OSM? How long does it take from having the models uploaded and the OSM elements tagged to showing them in OSM go?

Comment from -karlos- on 25 March 2018 at 19:19

Yes, tag the correct 3dmr ID and wait about 4 Minutes Overpass sync

Comment from -karlos- on 25 March 2018 at 20:16

Now you may check out the direction/orientation of a 3D model:

  • Use default/avatar control mode (changed by key X)
  • Click on the model
  • Arrow keys Left/Right will rotate it and the actual value is displayed

Note the value and tag it or edit the model values.

block rotated

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