Mayo town goes 3D

27-04-2007

by Maxim Kelly

Westport Urban District Council is presiding over Ireland's first interactive 'virtual town'.

Inhabitants of the picturesque Heritage Town in Co Mayo -- known locally as 'Covies' -- as well as visitors and tourists, can now explore Westport with the click of a mouse thanks to 3D software firm AMT3D. The Westport-based company was established by a consortium of European research institutes led by the University of Leeds in England to commercialise 3D imaging software.

The effect created by AMT3D's software is not unlike viewing the online virtual universe Second Life, yet is based on a real depiction of the built environment, rather than an imaginary version.

Brendan Hafferty, managing director of AM3TD, claims Westport's town council is the first local authority in the world to offer a full 3D depiction of its area. "It's great to see Westport leading the way in the application of this new technology, not just in Ireland but throughout Europe," he said.

"Interactive digital models like Westport3D offer many unique benefits to councils, planners, architects, developers and the general public. For the first time they can see computer visuals of proposed buildings (in 3D CAD format) inserted into a totally interactive, navigable, digital computer model of the real world."

The 3D mapping project has been completed and is available on CD-Rom from the local council. AMT3D said it will make its three-dimensional map of Westport available online from its website and the local council's website over the coming weeks.

Speaking with ENN, Hafferty explained that 3D maps of a town are created by taking long distance laser measurements of buildings and streetscapes, and integrating the data with digital photographs.

"The laser scanners compile 360 degree information and can plot 20,000 points per second to record the 'skeletons' of buildings -- it's a massive amount of data," he said. "Spatial information and photographic data are integrated and can be viewed using programs like Microsoft Active X."

He explained that the software used to create this three-dimensional depiction of the built environment has possible applications for a range of industries, including video games, civil engineering and advertising.

"It's easy to embed digital objects such as ads as hyperlinks," said Hafferty. This means virtual pedestrians walking around Westport3D will be able to click on a link displayed on the building where a business is based, and be transported to that company's own website.

The possibilities for urban planners are also numerous, as the CAD (computer aided design) plans for newly designed buildings can be entered into the virtual world to assess the impact a proposed building could have on its environment.

"It can calculate shadows, even at different times of year," said Hafferty, who added that the local authority in Holbeck, in the north of England, has used the software to assess the estimated effect of flooding on the city centre.

Hafferty refused to be drawn on the price of AMT3D's services, but said they "compared favorably with traditional surveying".

AMT3D employs six staff in Westport, and four in Dublin. It is currently working on expanding Westport's virtual reality model of the locality to the Quays area of the town, as well as the Newport, Castlebar and Ballinrobe roads.