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Geospatial Services - Wiki GWP5095 How to Create and Publish 3D Panoramas
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    GWP5095 How to Create and Publish 3D Panoramas

       
      Applies To 
       
      Product(s): Geo Web Publisher
      Version(s): V8i SELECTseries 4 (08.11.11.58)
      Environment:  N/A
      Area:  N/A
      Subarea:  N/A
      Original Author: Jim Irvine, Bentley Technical Support Group
       

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    An optimized i-model is a set of 3D panoramas, or points of interest, generated from a 3D model. A point of interest is a 3D, or a 360 degree image. It is very similar to photographic panorama but is generated from a 3D digital model instead of pictures.

    An optimized i-model can contain one or many points of interest. It can be generated in a MicroStation session (using i-model Optimizer) by selecting points of interest or from a command line with Bentley Geo Web Publisher.

    Optimized i-models can be viewed in a Silverlight 3D Viewer, keeping the full fidelity and the richness of the 3D model.

    There are two methods to generate optimized i-models: 

    1. Use the i-model Optimizer app inside MicroStation. i-model Optimizer is available for download from the Bentley Web site at http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Free+Software/imodel+optimizer+ipad.htm
    2. Use the Bentley Geo Web Publisher Panorama Generator: This tool generates a an optimized i-model from a 3D model by using location points (XYZ) from a database

     

    Requirements:

    • A 3D model (DGN, DWG, i-model)
    • For panorama packages (*.db) via the delivered Panorama Generator method, a 32bit ODBC database containing the point of interest coordinates from which you want to generate packages. This 'point of interest' database requires at least four (4) numeric columns. e.g.  ID, X, Y, Z.
    • To connect the generated package (*.db, *.omim) to the Geo Web Publisher Server, the SQLite3 32 bit ODBC driver: e.g. via  http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/ 
    • The Panorama will ultimately be displayed via the Silverlight viewer, so the end user's client must be Silverlight enabled.

    Note: An i-model is required in order to publish element attributes in the panorama.

    Steps to generate a Panorama package

    1. Open the 3D dgn and decide on the points of interest that you want generated as a panorama, e.g.:

     

     

     2. Note the x, y, and z coordinates of each point of interest. Ensure that each point is given a unique ID and store these within the database to be used to generate the panorama package. Note the tablename used. (Access shown)

     

     3. Create an ODBC System data source pointing to this 'points of interest' database.

     4. Create a 'Panorama Parameters' XML configuration file to be used during package generation. An XML file is defined by its content, so this is simply a text file, with *.xml extension.
    Populate the file with the code template from the Bentley Geo Web Publisher Help, section: Panorama Parameters XML Example File.

    Modify the default parameter values shown below in green, to match your scenario:


     <!--PanoramaLocationsSource: contains information on the ODBC database that contains panorama locations. Required-->

    <PanoramaLocationsSource> 
    <!--DatabaseConnection: ODBC datasource name. Required--> 
    <DatabaseConnection>pano</DatabaseConnection> 
    <!--TableName: table name that contains the panorama locations. Required--> 
    <TableName>Panoramas</TableName> 
    <!--PanorameIdColumnName: column name that contains the panorama ids. Required--> 
    <PanorameIdColumnName>ID</PanorameIdColumnName> 
    <!--XColumnName: column name that contains the panorama location X coordinate values. Required--> 
    <XColumnName>X</XColumnName> 
    <!--YColumnName: column name that contains the panorama location Y coordinate values. Required--> 
    <YColumnName>Y</YColumnName> 
    <!--ZColumnName: column name that contains the panorama location Z coordinate values. Required--> 
    <ZColumnName>Z</ZColumnName> 
    </PanoramaLocationsSource> 
    

    5. Modify additional parameters as desired.  Save the file, e.g. panorama.xml .

    6. Create the command syntax for package generation.  The -parameterfile definition, should utilze
    the *.xml filename created from steps 4 and 5.

    PanoramaCommand.exe -panoramapackage="C:\Test\Panorama\panoramapackage.db" -input="C:\Test\Panorama\test.dgn" -parameterfile="C:\Test\Panorama\panorama.xml"

    Launch a command (DOS) window, cd to the …/Bentley/GeoWebPublisher/
    directory, and execute your command statement.

    The package generation process can take a few minutes to complete even though the command may appear to have completed.  If the db created is around 35KB then the panoramas were not generated properly.

    N.B. The points of interest database, it's DSN, and the input file (e.g. -input="C:\Test\Panorama\test.dgn) are now no longer required. The generated panorama package (e.g. panoramapackage.db) now contains all the information required to publish the 3D panoramas in Bentley Geo Web Publisher.

    To view the contents of the db, if desired, you can download a free SQLite viewer from here:

    http://sqlitestudio.pl/ 

    To Publish the 3D Panoramas

    1. Create an SQLite3 (32 bit) ODBC System data source pointing on the generated *.db file. (You must install a “SQLite3” ODBC driver prior to define the DSN). 
    2. Create a Database connection in the Bentley Geo Web Publisher Administration with the link created in step 1.
    3. Create a “Panorama” graphical source by using the previously created connection.
    4. Create a map via the Bentley Geo Web Publisher Map Author. Add the Panorama graphical source as a layer.
    5. Create and publish a web site via the Bentley Geo Web Publisher Site Author, e.g. http://localhost/pano   Utilize the map previously created.  Create an IIS Application for the site if need be, ensuring that the “GWP WebSites AppPool” is utilized for the application definition.
    6. Visualize the Silverlight portion of the website. e.g.  http://localhost/pano/silverlightclientpage.aspx


       
    7. Turn the panorama layer ON and select the ‘View Panorama’ button. To visualize panoramas click on the symbol assigned to each point of interest in Map Author.


        

    The 3D Viewer can be launched from an external application by using the following URL:

    http://localhost/Client/3DViewer/3dViewer.aspx?map=MyMap&layer=MyLayer&panoid=1

    Parameters description: 

    Arguments syntax

    Description

    Required

    map=<map id or map name>

    Specifies the name or the id of the map.

    Yes

    layer=<layer id or layer name>

    Specifies the layer or the id of the panorama layer.

    Yes

    panoid=<panorama id>

    Specifies the id of the panorama as defined in the panorama package.

    Yes

     

    Known Issues

    • When using the SQLite ODBC driver to publish 3D panoramas, the panorama may not publish if the path of your panorama package is longer than 127 characteres. This limitation of the driver was overcome with SQLite 0.93 version so please update the driver with the latest version.
    • When the panorama is not displayed in the Silverlight 3D Viewer, this may be caused by a security issue to access the .db file while publishing.  To resolve this, you may have to change the IIS application identity to a custom admin account.  To do so, open IIS Manager and select the GWP PanoramaServer AppPool under the Application Pools list.  In the Advanced Settings dialog, change the Identity property from ApplicationPoolIdentity to a Custom account with adminitrator privileges.  Reset IIS (iisreset) and try again to publish your 3D panoramas.

     

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    • Nancy Mahmoud Created by Nancy Mahmoud
    • When: Mon, Sep 24 2012 9:59 AM
    • Nelson Hobdell Last revision by Bentley Colleague Nelson Hobdell
    • When: Mon, Oct 13 2014 1:13 PM
    • Revisions: 20
    • Comments: 0
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