TerraSolid, Bentley Map and CityGML Exports

Hi Shudh

I haven´t done this my self yet, but I have done some investigations how this would be possible to do.

But first the best way to get an better answer to this is to pop up the question to the Terrasolid user group site, there is maybe a way you can do the CityGML export without going throug BentleyMap.

Here some ideas to consider anyway:

Look if the generated buildings are saved as cells (if I remember right they are), if so you need to drop cell to geometry then you have plain Ms shapes. (doesn´t matter if you do this step in BM or plain MS)

For the citygml export I think you need the FME extension (someone from BM crew has to confirm this) what I also think is you have to create an schema in BM to be able to add (Promote) the XFM info to your building shapes also to make an "collection" of shapes for one building  (if this is neccesery for your project).

Use the export functionality in BentleyMap to export to CityGML(FME or not ??)

Interesting thread anyway, please update the thread with your progress in this issue.

Best regards

Tom

Hello Tom,

I do not know what "cell" is. Could you please give me some links or clarify?

Yes you are right about the FME extension (this appears in Kolbe (2008) paper) and so I ventured into learning abt Bentley Map. But things are a bit incomprehensible owing to a lack of proper documentation.

Regards

Shudh

While the Bentley Map FME Extension can definitely be used to import/export CityGML data, it is not required. Please refer to the Bentley Map Interoperability documentation here for additional information. For those working with CityGML data there is also available from a Bentley Geospatial Administrator defined XFM schema that can be useful. Please contact your account manager for additional information.

For users requiring more advanced interoperability capabilities, the Bentley Map FME Extension was developed along with our friends at Safe Software to make available many additional geospatial data formats and supports additional data conversion workflows.

@Jeff

I am sorry to say this but this is a pretty hopeless design of a user interface. Further, my question remains unanswered. It isn't still clear how buildings would be exported if they were being created in Bentley MS .

Hi shudh

First of all you need basic knowledge in Microstation to do these kind of things, but anyway, I try to guide you as god as I can without having Microstation aviable.

If I have understood you right you are using TerraScan and some Lidar data with point classified as Building points and then using Terrascan function to  automaticly generate the buildings, right?

or

Are you only reading lidar point as they are and want to manually vectorize buildings?

//Tom

BTW

Jeff, thanx for that information god to know :)

Hi shudh

First of all you need basic knowledge in Microstation to do these kind of things, but anyway, I try to guide you as god as I can without having Microstation aviable.

If I have understood you right you are using TerraScan and some Lidar data with point classified as Building points and then using Terrascan function to  automaticly generate the buildings, right?

or

Are you only reading lidar point as they are and want to manually vectorize buildings?

//Tom

BTW

Jeff, thanx for that information god to know :)

I have manually digitized 2 - 3 buildings in Microstation using the TerraScan. NOw I wish to take them to the CityGML. Let us start from here.

Excellent, then you can forget my comment about cel, :)

What you have now is basic shape or line  elements for walls roof etc. right.

Now is the tricky part that I haven't either done just for CityGml export purpose within BentleyMap, but if you can , learn Geospatial Administrator, create new or modify an existing XFM schema then it is absolutely the best way to go. See Jeff´s answer. It´s not so difficult when you get the idea of XFM and you have a lot of benefits later on in your projects, when needed to convert/export/import to/from different GIS/CAD/XML formats

But....If you consider open source software instead to do the Citygml conversion, you have an option to do this with ogr2ogr, see links:

www.opengeospatial.org/.../citygml

www.ogr2gui.ca/.../index.php

Then you can use the Bentley Map only export your dgn file with your vectorized buildings to GIS format or save as different Cad format (this can be done with plain microstation) depending what format you chose to work with ogr2ogr

Good luck

//Tom

BTW

You know that if you have the full version of TerraScan and some Lidar data with point classified as Building points, you can automaticly generate the buildings, see example of the workflow on TerraSolid.com

...or you have lidar or pointcload data but no classification you can classify the points manually within Microstation and Point Cloud tools or do the classification through TerraScan with macros or manually either way I recommend you to learn that also.