View-dependent textures for interactive geographic information system

摘要

Systems and methods for rendering a view-dependent texture in conjunction with a polygon mesh to provide a textured three-dimensional model of a geographic area are provided. The view-dependent texture can be optimized for viewing the three-dimensional model from a single reference direction. When a user navigates to a camera viewpoint of the three-dimensional model associated with the single reference direction, the view-dependent texture can be rendered in conjunction with the three-dimensional model to provide a more realistic representation of the geographic area to the user. When a user navigates to a camera viewpoint of the three-dimensional model that is not associated with the single reference direction, a base texture can be rendered in conjunction with the three-dimensional model. The base texture can be optimized based on viewing the three-dimensional model from a plurality of differing viewpoints.

主权项

1. A method for generating a view-dependent texture for use in rendering a three-dimensional model of a geographic area, comprising:
identifying a reference viewpoint of the geographic area based on usage data, the usage data indicative of the number of requests for viewing the three-dimensional model from a perspective associated with the reference viewpoint; acquiring a plurality of source images of the geographic area according to a source image acquisition plan, the source image acquisition plan specifying the acquisition of source images along a single view direction generally aligned with a reference direction associated with the reference viewpoint; and generating, by one or more computing devices, a view-dependent texture from the plurality of source images.