Abstract
In recent years, hardware and software innovations in the computer and video game industries have established affordable Virtual Reality (VR) systems as mass media products. Modern VR headsets, such as HTCVive and Oculus Rift, are used to play games at home, while being part of VR landscapes controlled via natural body movements transported from the real world. Moreover, users can download open source game engines and create their own virtual landscapes. These game engines are compatible with established cartographic 3-D modelling software. Cartographers can now build their own spatially precise and cartographic VR environments based on open data, open source modelling software and open source game engines. The project presented in this paper suggests a workflow of constructing an urban VR landscape without any costs for data and software. The final product is a VR application representing the campus of Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), which is planned to be offered as a virtual orientation system for campus visitors, such as new geography/geomatics students trying to locate their cartography lecturers.
Zusammenfassung
In jüngster Zeit sind durch Innovationen in der Computer- und Videospielindustrie erschwingliche Hardware- und Softwarelösungen zur Virtual Reality (VR) entwickelt worden, die nun als Massenmedien etabliert sind. Mit aktuellen VR-Headsets, wie bspw. HTC Vive und Oculus Rift, können daheim Spiele gespielt werden, während der Spieler selbst Teil der VR-Landschaften wird, die er durch übertragene natürliche Körperbewegungen beeinflussen und steuern kann. Darüber hinaus können Nutzer freie und quelloffene Spiel-Engines downloaden und mit ihnen eigene virtuelle Landschaften erstellen. Diese Spiel-Engines sind kompatibel mit quelloffener 3D-Modellierungssoftware, die in der Kartographie eingesetzt wird. Dadurch kModellierungsonnen Kartographen eigene VR-Umgebungen schaffen, die auf freien Daten, freier Modellierungs-Software und freien Spiele-Engines beruhen. In diesem Aufsatz wird ein Projekt-Workflow vorgeschlagen, der zur Konstruktion einer urbanen VR-Landschaft, ohne Kosten für Daten und Software, eingesetzt werden kann. Das Produkt dieses Workflows ist eine VR-Applikation des Campus der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), die perspektivisch als virtuelles Orientierungssystem für Campus-Besucher, wie bspw. neue Geographie-/Geomatik-Studierende, die ihre Kartographie-Dozenten suchen, angeboten werden könnte.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature
Adams, E. (2014): Fundamentals of Game Design. 3rd ed., Thousand Oaks
Baldwin, R. (2016): An extra $ 79 turns the Oculus into a room-scale VR system. https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/06/an-extra-79-tums-the-oculus-into-a-room-scale-vr-system/ [last access: 13 Oct 2017]
Bröhmer, K.; Knust, C.; Dickmann, F.; Buchroithner, M. F. (2013): Z-axis-Based Visualization of Map Elements - Cartographic Experiences with 3-D Monitors Using Lenticular Foil Technology. In: The Cartographic Journal, 50 (3), pp. 211–217
Chan, M. (2014): Virtual Reality. Representations in Contemporary Media. New York/London
Çöltekin, A.; Lokka, I.-E.; Zahner, M. (2016): On the Usability and Usefulness of 3-D (Geo)visualizations - A Focus on Virtual Reality Environments. In: ISPRS - International Arcl1ives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLI-B2, pp. 387–392
Deggim, S.; Tschirschwitz, F.; Kersten, P. (2017): Entwicklung eines virtuellen Museums für ein historisches Gebäude am Beispiel des Alt-Segeberger Bürgerhauses. In: 37. Wissenschaftlich-Technische Jahrestagung der DGPF in Würzburg - Publikationen der DGPF, Band 26, online available: http://www.dgpf.de/src/tagung/jt2017/proceedings/proceedings/papers/44_KKP_DGPF2017_Deggim_et_al.pdf [last access: 15 Oct 2017]
Dickmann, F. (2010): The Potential of the Lenticular Foil Technique for Thematic Cartography. In: The Cartographic Journal, 47 (3), pp. 250–256
Dickmann, F.; Edler D.; Bestgen A.-K.; Kuchinke L. (2013): Spatial Distortions in Cognitive Maps - A Chance and Challenge to Enrich the Principles of Map Design. In: Kartographische Nachrichten, 63 (Special Issue: Cartography and Geographic Information Science in Germany, Austria and Switzerland), pp. 174–181
Dinh, H. Q.; Walker, N.; Hodges, L. F.; Song, C.; Kobayashi, A. (1999): Evaluating the Importance of Multi-Sensory Input on Memory and the Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments. In: Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Conference, Houston, TX, 13–17 March, pp. 222–228
Dodt, J.; Bestgen, A.-K.; Edler, D. (2017): Ansätze der Erfassung und kartographischen Präsentation der olfaktorischen Dimension. In: Kartographische Nachrichten, 67 (5), pp. 245–256
Donovan, J. (2017): Mastering Oculus Rift Development. Explore the New Frontier of Virtual Reality with Oculus Rift and Bring the VR Revolution to Your Own Projects. Birmingham
Dörner, R.; Geiger, C.; Oppermann, L; Paelke, V. (2013): Interaktionen in Virtuellen Welten. In: Dörner, R.; Broll, W.; Grimm, P.; Jung, B. (eds.): Virtual und Augmented Reality. Berlin and Heidelberg, pp. 157–193
Edler, D.; Keil, J.; Dickmann, F. (2018): Varianten interaktiver Karten in Video- und Computerspielen - eine Übersicht. In: Kartographische Nachrichten (accepted)
Edler, D. (2017): Virtuelle Realität (VR). In: Broll, G.; Egner, H.; Leser, H.; Rothfuß, E.; Vetter, M. (eds.): Diercke Wörterbuch Geographie. 16th ed., Braunschweig, p. 1028
Edler, D.; Dickmann, F. (2017): The Impact of 1980s and 1990s Video Games on Multimedia Cartography. In: Cartographica, 52 (2), pp. 168–177
Edler, D.; Dickmann, F. (2015): Elevating Streets in Urban Topographic Maps Improves the Speed of Map-reading. In: Cartographica, 50 (4), S. 217–223
Edler, D.; Bestgen, A.-K.; Kuchinke, L.; Dickmann, F. (2015): True-3-D Accentuating of Grids and Streets in Urban Topographic Maps Enhances Human Object-Location Memory. In: PLOS ONE, 10 (2), e0116959
Edler, D.; Huber, O.; Knust, C.; Buchroithner, M. F.; Dickmann, F. (2014): Spreading Map Information over Different Depth Layers - An Improvement for Map-reading Efficiency? In: Cartographica, 49 (3), pp. 153–163
Elistratov, V. (2017): blender-osm. https://github.com/vvoovv/blender-osm/wiki/Documentation [last access: 7 Oct 2017]
labs_team (2017): Arc GIS 360 VR. https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=58094e8cf92644d28d5cb4a4fda3602e [last access: 21 Oct 2017]
Garner, T. A. (2017): Echoes of Other Worlds: Sound in Virtual Reality. Past, Present and Future. Cham
Grabowski, A.; Jankowski, J. (2015): Virtual Reality-based Pilot Training for Underground Coal Miners. In: Safety Science, 72, pp. 310–314
Grimm, P.; Herold, R.; Reiners, D.; Cruz-Neira, C. (2013): VR-Ausgabegeräte. In: Dörner, R., Broll, W., Grimm, P., and Jung, B. (eds.): Virtual und Augmented Reality. Berlin and Heidelberg, pp. 127–156
Häkkinen, J.; Kawai, T.; Takatalo, J.; Mitsuya, R.; Nyman, G. (2010): What Do People Look at When They Watch Stereoscopic Movies? In: Woods, A. J.; Holliman, N.S.; Dodgson, N.A. (eds.): Proceedings of SPIE 7524, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXI, 75240E
Holliman, N. S.; Dodgson, N. A.; Favalora, G. E.; Pockett, L. (2011): Three-dimensional Displays: A Review and Application Analysis. In: IEEE Transactions and Broadcastings, 57 (2), pp. 362–371
HTC Coorporation (2017): Vive Virtual Reality System. https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-virtual-reality-system/ [last access: 14 Oct 2017]
Jerald, J. (2016): The VR Book. Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality. San Rafael
Jung, B.; Vitzthum, A. (2013): Virtuelle Welten. In: Dörner, R.; Broil, W.; Grimm, P.; Jung, B. (eds.): Virtual und Augmented Reality. Berlin and Heidelberg, pp. 65–95
Kent, S. L. (2001): The Ultimate History of Video Games. From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond - The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. New York
Kersten, T.; Büyüksalih, G.; Tschirschwitz, F.; Kan, T.; Deggim, S.; Kaya, Y.; Baskaraca, A. P. (2017): The Selimiye Mosque of Edirne, Turkey - An Immersive and Interactive Virtual Reality Experience using HTC Vive. In: Tucci, G.; Bonora, V. (eds.): Proceedings of the International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-5/W1, GEOMATICS & RESTORATION - Conservation of Cultural Heritage in tire Digital Era, Florence, Italy, pp. 403–409, online available: https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sensspatial-inf-sci.net/XLII-5-W1/403/2017/isprsarchives-XLII-5-W1-403-2017.pdf [last access: 27 Dec 2017]
Knust, C.; Buchroithner, M. F. (2014): Principles and Terminology of True-3-D Geovisualisation. In: The Cartographic Journal 51, (3), pp. 191–202
Kreuziger, U. (2017): Entwicklung georeferenzierter Augmented-Reality-Systeme auf Mobilgeräten mit Mikrosensoren. In: Veröffentlichungen der DGK. Ausschuss Geodäsie der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Dissertation, vol. 796, online available: https://dgk.badw.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Files/DGK/docs/c-796.pdf [last access: 21 Oct 2017]
Laakso, M; Sarjakoski, T. (2010): Sonic Maps for Hiking - Use of Sound in Enhancing the Map Use Experience. In: The Cartographic Journal, 47 (4), pp. 300–307
Lammert-Siepmann, N.; Bestgen, A.-K.; Edler, D.; Kuchinke, L.; Dickmann, F. (2017): Audiovisual Communication of Object-Names Improves the Spatial Accuracy of Recalled Object-Locations in Topographic Maps. In: PLOS ONE, 12 (10), e0186065
Malliet, S.; de Meyer, G. (2005): The History of the Video Game. In: Goldstein, J., and Raessens, J. (eds.): Handbook of Computer Game Studies. Cambridge, MA/London,pp. 23–45
Martin, B. S. (2017): Virtual Reality. Chicago
Masrur, A.; Zhao, J.; Wallgrün, J. O.; LaFemina, P.; Klippel, A. (2017): Immersive Applications for Informal and Interactive Learning for Earth Sciences. In: Workshop on Immersive Analytics: Exploring Future Interaction and Visualization Technologies for Data Analytics, online available: http://www.aviz.fr/~bbach/immersive2017/papers/IA_1203-paper.pdf [last access: 19 Oct 2017]
McMahan, A. (2003): Immersion, Engagement and Presence. In: Wolf, M. J. P; Perron, B. (eds.): The Video Game Theory Reader. London / New York, pp. 67–86
Milgram, P.; Kishino, F. (1994): A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays. In: IEICE Transactions of Information Systems, E77-D (12), pp. 1321–1329
Minecraftpsycho (2006): The Sensorama. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality#/media/File:Sensorama-morton-heilig-virtual-reality-headset.jpg, under CC BY-SA 4.0
Nitsche, M. (2008): Video Game Spaces. Image, Play, and Structure in 3-D Worlds. Cambridge, MA/London
Oculus VR, LLC. (2017): Motion. https://developer.oculus.com/design/latest/concepts/bp_app_motion/ [last access: 13 Oct 2017]
Ortwein, A.; Krebs, B.; Mehring, J.; Schultz, J.; Rienow, A. (2017): Neue Dimensionen der Erdbeobachtung im Schulunterricht: Raumfahrt, 3-D und Augmented Reality. In: 37. Wissenschaftlich-Technische Jahrestagung der DGPF in Würzburg - Publikationen der DGPF, Band 26, online available: http://www.dgpf.de/src/tagung/jt2017/proceedings/proceedings/papers/31_DGPF2017_Ortwein_et_al.pdf [last access: 15 Oct 2017]
Picard, M. (2014): Levels. In: Wolf, M. J.P.; Perron, B. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies, New York/Abingdon, pp. 99–106
Plowman, J. (2016): 3-D Game Design with Unreal Engine 4 and Blender. Birmingham/Mumbai
Quaye-Ballard, J. A. (2008): Virtual Reality: A Tool for Cartographic Visualization. In: Journal of Science and Technology, 28 (1), pp. 136–145
Richartz, J. (2016): Spiele entwickeln mit Unreal Engine 4. Munich
Ronchi, A. M. (2009): eCulture. Cultural Content in the Digital Age. Berlin/Heidelberg
Rüppel, U.; Schatz, K. (2011): Designing a BLM-based Serious Game for Fire Safety Evacuation Simulations. In: Advanced Engineering Informatics, 25 (4), pp. 600–611
Schafer, R. M. (1977): The Soundscape. Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Rochester
Schiewe, J. (2017): Jochen Schiewe INTERGEO TV Opinion Leader from August 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETOL_yYidVw [last access: 14 Oct 2017]
Schumann, H.-G. (2016): Unity-Workshop. Spiele-Welten mit Unity, MakeHuman und Blender erstellen. Frechen
Seifert, C. (2015): Spiele entwickeln mit Unity 5. 2D- und 3D-Games mit Unity und C# für Desktop, Web amp; Mobile. 2nd ed., Munich
Sivan, Y. (2016): Preface: 3D3C Platforms: Le’s Shape the Future. In: Sivan, Y. (ed.): Handbook on 3D3C Platforms. Applications and Tools for Three-Dimensional Systems for Community, Creation and Commerce. Cham and others, pp. ix–x
Steinicke, F. (2016): Being Really Virtual. Immersive Natives and the Future of Virtual Reality. Cham and others
Tripwire Interactive (2010): The player fighting a swarm of specimens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fioor_(video_game)#/media/File:Killing_Floor_Biohazard1jpg, under CC BY-SA 3.0
Vetter, M. (2018): GIS - Das richtige Programm für die Energiewende. In: Kühne, O.; Weber, F. (eds.): Bausteine der Energiewende. (accepted)
Wade, N. J.; Swanston, M. T. (2001): Visual Perception: An Introduction. 2nd ed., Hove
Wilson, C.; Soranzo, A. (2015): The Use of Virtual Reality in Psychology: A Case Study in Visual Perception. In: Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 151702, online available: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cmmm/2015/151702/ [last access: 15 Oct 2017]
Wolf, M. J. P. (2014): Worlds. In: Wolf, M. J. P.; Perron, B. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies. New York/Abingdon, pp. 125–31
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Edler, D., Husar, A., Keil, J. et al. Virtual Reality (VR) and Open Source Software: A Workflow for Constructing an Interactive Cartographic VR Environment to Explore Urban Landscapes. j. Cartogr. Geogr. inf. 68, 5–13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03545339
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03545339