e Earth 3D Browser

HTTP/1.1 200 OK e Earth 3D Browser

3D Browser Overview
eEarth for CD/DVD ROM & iMapRoamer for internet

Image filtering and highlighting
-- interactive data analysis
The "Image Pixel Study" feature allows users to observe longitude/latitude and elevation values of pixel under the cursor. The "Image Filter" feature further enables users to specify filter conditions to apply to elevation data, including Below, Above, Equal, Not Equal, and Between operators. Filtered image display offers grayscale and highlight options. As well, highlight color can be opaque or transparent.
Examples of "Image Filter" use include:
(1) Known elevations where a particular species of plants/animals frequenly inhabit can be easily identified.
(2) Effects of potential flooding (e.g. a dam bursting), where affected areas are those below a certain elevation threshold, can be visually identified.

Figure: In transparent purple, locations with elevation between
700 and 1000 meters are highlighted on the satellite image.

Location oriented 3D Engine
3D Browser is a client end application developed by InforShell that superimposes large RS imagery and environment data (retrieved from database) to present a seamless geographic information platform. Via this software end users can perform interactive 3D environment analysis and visualization. A variety of distributed data can be visualized by 3D Browser, for example, DEM, Vegetation Indices, Leaf Area Index.
An existing 3D Browser application is InforShell's Earth 3D 1KM True Color RS Image & DEM Database. Imagery and elevation data points are mapped together as illustrated below:

3D Elevation Visualization
-- interactive 3D analysis
The "Image Elevation 3D Study" feature opens an interactive 3D visualization display window, in which a 60km square plot can be freely rotated or enlarged via control of the mouse. Returning to the original window, the mouse can be used to navigate, and dynamically refresh the 3D plot in real time with a new region of data.
The "Select 3D Options" feature further enables users to precisely control 3D plot style to optimize it's illustrative effect. For example:
(1) Changing color of bars, background, grid-display or lightness;
(2) Changing surface color smoothing coefficient, or elevation data smoothing coefficient (each provides 6 levels).

Figure: Comparing before and after elevation data
and surface color smoothing.

Location oriented interactive 3D analysis

Figure: Flatland area (New Orleans .USA) 3D bar graph mode
to enable exact comparison of elevation data per pixel

Figure: Hilly area elevation data visualized via 3D analysis feature

Location Specific Notes
-- adding notes to geographic background at desired positions.
Users can easily embed notes, tracks or images into the satellite image, which can be saved into files for easy storage.
Example uses for embedding notes and tracks:
(1) Marking wildlife distribution, or natural diaster sites's data and history.
(2) Recording location oriented data gathered from surveys or field work, including natural resources distribution, archeological excavations.
(3) Notes from travel, or points to aide teaching.
Notes or images acquired on site can be embedded within location markers (symbols) placed over the geographic background. Users can organized/categorize these notes by saving them into files on his/her computer. Thus different sets of notes can be prepared for different scenarios. This note/track feature is a simple means to made additions to the geographic platform. For creating advanced distributed networks, users may consider Inforshell product GADB-Shell, a backend data management studio.

Figure: User track added

Third party plug-in DLLs
Easy integration of third party data processing algorithms (using plug-in DLLs) to facilitate dynamic 3D visualization of private data analysis results.
Benefits:
(1) The geographic information platform can be created from user's existing imagery/data resources, or purchased according to customer requirements. A geographic information platform helps users integrate natural resources data, environmental conditions, natural disasters records, population distribution, as well as distributed network systems etc. Such information systems greatly facilitate sustainable developement planning.
(2) Increase commercial value of user's satellite imagery and elevation data.

Figure: Third party plug-in DLLs