Military Mission Planning In 3D

"Using simple and effective 3D visualization tools for mission planning applications is becoming a reality"

That's the message from Francois Letourneau and his research colleagues at the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV), the research and development arm of the Canadian Forces.

3D Mission Tools
DREV researchers have been working for several years on delivering better data and tools to military planners. One of their projects is focused on 3D modeling. Is it feasible, the researchers wondered, to quickly construct 3D models of towns and cities to help guide combat, search and rescue, or humanitarian relief operations?

Currently, mission planners rely on things like conventional military maps, road maps, aerial photographs and remote sensing images to scope out their operations. But these 2D tools cannot deliver mission-critical 3D data: Does that city block contain two story shops or ten story factories? Can our troops scale that next wall? How many windows face the street from the target building? Without a 3D perspective, some of the most important mission information is unknown until the mission team is "on the ground."

A Problem of Tools and Not Data
Access to 3D data has never been the problem. 3D attributes are commonly found in GIS databases, and other forms of 3D data are readily available in both the public and private domain. The problem has always been the lack of tools that can quickly process this data into meaningful 3D content for mission planning.

Historically, GIS users have lacked a simple method for creating and interacting with 3D GIS. Processing incompatible raw data into usable realtime 3D scenes involved using a series of different tools, many of which require specific technical expertise in 3D modeling and simulation combined with a long series of processing steps. From a military planning standpoint, time was the big barrier - their planners needed results in hours instead of days.

The SiteBuilder 3D Solution
MultiGen-Paradigm's SiteBuilder 3D proved to be an efficient solution to the modelisation and visualization problem addressed by the DREV researchers.

SiteBuilder 3D is a realtime 3D GIS modeling and simulation tool that combines both 3D scene creation and fully interactive flythrough software tools delivered in a single package with the ability to rapidly produce viewable 3D scenes. And, since SiteBuilder 3D operates as an extension (plug-in) to ESRI's ArcView® GIS system, it can access any dataset available directly from within ArcView GIS. Correlated 3D scenes that formerly took days to build and interact with can now be done in SiteBuilder 3D in a matter of minutes.

The DREV Prototype
Images from the DREV prototype project show how SiteBuilder 3D proved its value as a high-resolution 3D GIS visualization package. The researchers chose to model Quebec City, since it contains neighborhoods that reflect both Old World and New World architecture.

SiteBuilder 3D uses 2D data to create the terrain model geometry of a site. All of the source data is embedded in ArcView GIS data and pulled from common elevation sources such as contour maps and digital elevation models. In DREV's case, the research team employed a digital elevation model derived from photogrammetry. Then, using aerial photographs, SiteBuilder 3D "drapes" the ground imagery over the terrain model it has just created. Next, the tool automatically extrudes the site features and places them into the 3D scene. SiteBuilder 3D also provides a library of colors, textures, and 3D models to create specific or typical surface features for buildings, roads, rivers, trees, etc.

Since this is a realtime 3D model, the military planners can then "view" the Quebec model from any vantage point or perspective. The ability to navigate through a 3D scene without any constraints gives the planners immediate access to view, scale and distance information. Planners can choose environmental settings to view the model under changing conditions of fog, clouds, and time of day, adding to the realism of the scene.

SiteBuilder 3D provides "split screen" viewing capability that displays ArcView's 2D map on one side of the screen and the corresponding 3D scene on the other. A "viewcone" avatar symbol keeps track of eyepoint position in the 3D scene and displays in a top-down perspective on the map for a correlated 2D/3D view.

Enhancing the Model

DREV had another prime requirement - the ability to add more detail to the basic model and to continue to update it as more onsite data becomes available. To address that need, DREV took advantage of the interoperability between SiteBuilder 3D and MultiGen CreatorPro™, MultiGen-Paradigm's realtime 3D modeling software. Any scene created in SiteBuilder 3D can be published to OpenFlight®, MultiGen-Paradigm's industry standard realtime 3D scene file format. The OpenFlight scene can then be displayed in CreatorPro and more detail can be added. For example, users can add distinct architectural features such as rooflines, eaves, balconies, and street scene elements. In addition, textures of unique building facades can be added to the models using site photographs, as DREV did with their Quebec model.

As Francois Letourneau points out, the DREV requirements are somewhat paradoxical - both rapid model generation and the ability to upgrade to a significant level of detail. The Quebec prototype shows the strengths of the combined SiteBuilder 3D-CreatorPro solution. These tools provide the capability to rapidly generate 3D scenes directly from GIS data and then add the exquisite level of 3D detail as displayed in DREV's application. DREV and RealDB, a Montreal-based modeling company, using MultiGen CreatorPro™ tools, created this later model jointly.

DREV's mission is to bring the benefits of technology closer to the military's frontlines. If the researchers are right, SiteBuilder 3D may soon deliver a literal new dimension to military mission planning.

Contact Information:

Francois Letourneau
Centre de Recherches pour la Defense Valcartier
418-844-4000
francois.letourneau@drev.dnd.ca

Christian Cole
Product Manager
MultiGen-Paradigm, Inc.
972.943.2410
christian.cole@multigen.com