In recent years national parks worldwide have introduced online virtual tourism, through which potential visitors can search for tourist information. Most virtual tourism websites are a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of panoramic images, a sequence of hyperlinked still or video images, and/or virtual models of the actual location. As opposed to actual tourism, a virtual tour is typically accessed on a personal computer or an interactive kiosk. Using modern Digital Earth techniques such as high resolution satellite images, precise GPS coordinates and powerful 3D WebGIS, however, it's possible to create more realistic scenic models to present natural terrain and man-made constructions in greater detail. This article explains how to create an online scientific reality tourist guide for the Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park at Jinguashi in northern Taiwan, China. This project uses high-resolution Formosat 2 satellite images and digital aerial images in conjunction with DTM to create a highly realistic simulation of terrain, with the addition of 3DMAX to add man-made constructions and vegetation. Using this 3D Geodatabase model in conjunction with INET 3D WebGIS software, we have found Digital Earth concept can greatly improve and expand the presentation of traditional online virtual tours on the websites.

Date Published: 3 November 2010
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 7840, Sixth International Symposium on Digital Earth: Models, Algorithms, and Virtual Reality, 78400Q (3 November 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.872675

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7840:
Sixth International Symposium on Digital Earth: Models, Algorithms, and Virtual Reality
Huadong Guo; Changlin Wang, Editor(s)