AccuCities chose Getmapping Aerial Imagery for 3D City Modelling

AccuCities specialise in accurate and high detail digital 3D city models. A small team of four, collectively with 20 years of experience in the 3D city modelling industry, their innovative approach sees them working with architects, planners, building consultants, landowners and entertainment organisations, primarily within the Real Estate and Built Environment sectors.

High-quality aerial imagery is required for model accuracy

Accucities require high-resolution aerial imagery, available in stereo pairs, to create their traditional digital models. The usage of their models varies from traditional Architectural visualisation, Right of Light analysis, Daylight and Sunlight studies, VFX and even 3D Printing.

Their models come in several levels of detail and this is determined by the amount of building and terrain features they add to each model. The quality of their models depends massively on the quality of data used for each build, and as such, they require the highest quality aerial imagery data available to ensure their 3D mapping products are accurate for each of their customers.

Modelling St James Park football stadium

For a recent project, Accucities required high-resolution aerial imagery of an area around St James Park football stadium in Newcastle in order to create a model for a planning and development consultancy client. Getmapping provided aerial imagery at 12.5cm resolution, enabling Accucities to create a highly detailed model of the stadium and surrounding properties.

As their modelling process is based on traditional Stereo Photogrammetry, Accucities used Getmapping's high-resolution aerial imagery to measure distances and heights between features, and each feature, on the ground and on roofs, was given its own feature class. The details captured on the rooftops of the buildings was fantastic due to the high-resolution imagery provided by Getmapping. Using our high-resolution imagery Accucities were able to identify which buildings are under construction or under scaffolding, and they gave these parts of the model their own feature class too, as shown in the images below, where you can see the scaffolding in red surrounding the buildings.

Future proofing the model

This modelling process is carried out in a 3D environment and the resulting model is post-processed to achieve a usable geometry. The final stage in their modelling process was to import the model itself, and some proposed buildings going up in the next few years, into an Unreal Engine application that Accucities have recently developed. The application acts as a unique and easy to use visualisation tool for our model and other geometry.

As you can see here in the image from the application, the new buildings going up are in light blue and portray the visual of this part of Newcastle in the future.

"For AccuCities to deliver accurate and up to date models we need the best aerial imagery data available. The aerial imagery data provided from Getmaapping is always of the best quality, and the delivery times and costs are always competitive. I cannot recommend Getmapping enough for our spatial data needs."

Sandor Petroczi, Director AccuCities