The 3D visualisation was produced with support from the Hasso Plattner Institute for Software Systems Engineering in Potsdam. HPI spin-off 3D Geo GmbH developed the software behind the models and their photorealistic appearance.
LandXplorer software creates the representation of Dresden in Google Earth by automatically combining two-dimensional map data with elevation data. Facades extracted from specially captured imagery are then positioned on the geometry.
3D Geo Managing Director Marc Hildebrandt said that, apart from Dresden and Berlin, whose model contained around 44,000 buildings, no comparable online city model provided such an information space for visitors, businesses and public administration.
Users can move through a representation of central Dresden, pass the Zwinger or view landmarks such as the Frauenkirche from the air. HPI’s Jürgen Döllner, who helped develop the underlying 3D-visualisation technology, expected other cities to follow.
