Open-Source Solutions for Real-Time 3D Geospatial Web Integration

Abstract

The recent development of Urban Digital Twin (UDT) structures and the spread of Internet of Things (IoT) technology have extended the concept of Digital Twin (DT) to urban environment representation, enabling real-time connections between geospatial representations and their real-world counterparts. Concurrently, advancements in surveying technologies and web geospatial services have facilitated the acquisition of extensive 2D and 3D geospatial data, making their spatial integration essential. While some proprietary software solutions have recently enabled initial examples of UDT by integrating various 3D geospatial data and real-time sensor acquisition, the development of open-source solutions for real-time web-based geospatial management remains a challenge. This work demonstrates a possible open-source solution for developing a UDT accessible via the web. The case study involves the web visualization platform of the new Faculty of ITC building at the University of Twente in Enschede (The Netherlands), which is connected in real-time with weather data services provided by Visual Crossing (1). The platform is based on an HTML5 framework and employs WebGL JavaScript graphic libraries to visualize different modules of 3D web visualization that integrate various local and remote 3D datasets. The framework adopted in this experiment can be used in the future for developing low-cost UDT web platforms beneficial for researchers, municipalities, and private companies interested in the real-time geospatial management of urban environments.