Real Time Viewing of World Orienteering Championships Possible with Fast 3D Visualization
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Real time viewing of World Orienteering Championships possible with fast 3D visualization The 2003 World Orienteering Championships held this male and female runners August in Switzerland marked a milestone in technological were shown simultaneously history. For the first time ever, the winning routes were in the movie, their different able to be visualized in near real-time with Erdas IMAGINE® routes were easy to spot VirtualGIS software from Leica Geosystems. in the strategic post-race analysis. A great deal is demanded IMAGINE Virtual GIS at the from orienteering runners: core in addition to being athletic, As a basis for realizing the they must also have good 3D visualization with spatial visualization ability. IMAGINE Virtual GIS, MFB- Only those runners who are GeoConsulting (www.mfb- Left: Simone Luder able to analyze the task geo.com) used a high- orients herself during provided and are the fastest resolution digital elevation the race on the way to implement it on the model (DEM) and the digital to the next post on ground, can win. The posts orienteering race map (pixel her map. Her route that must be passed are map) on the one hand, and led the Swiss athlete stationed in forests, fields vector data of the routes to a gold medal. and urban areas. How can taken by the runners on the this be visualized for a large other. number of spectators and an excited television audience? It was a particularly techni- cal challenge to achieve Enthusiastic athletes and optimum rendering, since fans the geometry of the 3D MFB-GeoConsulting in scene was constantly Messen had a solution that changing and therefore had enabled the 3D visualization to be permanently recalcula- of the 2003 World Orien- ted. An organizational teering Championships in challenge resulted from the near real-time with Leica fact that precise data on the Geosystems’ Erdas starting point, posts and IMAGINE® VirtualGIS. Just goal were only announced minutes after the finish line shortly prior to the start of was crossed, the routes of each of the orienteering Above: The posts and the routes chosen by the three best the three best male and races. competitors were visualized in the target area for spectators female runners were digita- on the projection screen with the help of Leica Geosystems’ lized, played back virtually For that reason, the Erdas IMAGINE® VirtualGIS. before the public and corresponding symbols for partially televised using a routes, posts and runners Below: Posts are interim goals. Here, Marian Davidik from Slovakia high-resolution scale model were generated and checks in. Center: Thierry Gueorgiou, from France, on the way to a and the digital orienteering imported into IMAGINE gold medal in the classic-distance final. map. Since the three best VirtualGIS and linked within 24 the system before the events. That enabled the races to be visualized as they were being run – practically in real-time. The only data that had to be entered at the time of the starting signal were the new, effective geographic coordi- nates of the starting point, the individual posts and the finish. In order to attain the best possible representa- tions of the terrain and the courses run, the optimum angles and perspectives for viewing the terrain were determined during the race in conjunction with an orien- teering specialist. That let both athletes and spectators follow the race exactly and analyze the race after the fact. Routes of the best three runners in three dimensions Just minutes after the finish video screen just a few closer together as they Above: The terrain, orienteering line was crossed, the routes minutes after the finish line approached the posts. That symbols and routes run by the was crossed, with parts of was really impressive. In top three runners were “ the race being broadcast on general, it can be said that visualized in three dimensions Leica’s Imagine television. Since the three the Leica Imagine animation using Imagine VirtualGIS male and female runners made the most important software. Spectators in the VirtualGIS 3D were shown simultaneously aspects of the World target area were thus able to animation made in the movie, the different Orienteering Championships follow the final victory run of routes they selected were visible.” It looks as though world champion Simone Luder the most impor- clearly recognizable. it’s likely to become a and those of her toughest standard at such events. competitors. tant aspects Never before had organi- Michael Baumgartner zers, athletes, spectators and visible.” television viewers been Felix Arnet treated to such deep insights into the runners’ strategies of the three best male and and the races. female runners were digitali- zed as ATL files in ASCII Felix Arnet from the organi- format with geographic zing committee of the 2003 coordinates and chronologi- World Orienteering Cham- cal data and then converted pionships commented: “One into shape files. In order for particularly positive aspect the race to be compressed worth mentioning was the down to a few minutes and fact that the 3D visualization played back in virtual time, enabled people to really see the time base had to be how steep the terrain was. compressed as well. For the The runners’ different route analysis, DTM, digital competitive strategies were orienteering map and the also clearly visible: you shape files (routes run and could see how the athletes time information) of the left the post, decided on dif- three best runners were inte- ferent routes, ran in their grated and then played back selected directions and then for the audience on a giant started getting closer and Right: He did it – a gold medal! Swiss runner Thomas Bührer Left: An impressive final sprint from won the long-distance race to Jamie Stevenson in Rapperswil on Lake become world champion. Zurich: the Brit was crowned world All photos: swiss-image.ch/ champion. Remy Steinegger 25.