Digital Twin Construction Platform "Re: Earth" Unveils "PLATEAU VIEW 2.0," A Visualization Environment for 3D Urban Models!
"Digital Public Good" Unveiled: Accelerating DX for Governments & Businesses with No-Code Solutions
Eukarya Inc. (HQ in Shibuya, Tokyo, CEO: Kenya Tamura) and the Hidenori Watanabe Lab at the University of Tokyo Graduate School have jointly developed the open-source digital twin platform "Re: Earth." This platform has been adopted for the visualization environment "PLATEAU VIEW 2.0" in the "Project PLATEAU," a 3D urban model development, utilization, and open data project led by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation(MLIT). The platform was finally released this spring.
At the same time, MLIT has released the source code and demonstration environment construction manual for PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 as open-source. The goal is to promote the platform's adoption in local governments and encourage its use by citizens and private companies for handling 3D urban models.
What is the project PLATEAU?
Project PLATEAU is an initiative led by MLIT in Japan, aiming to develop, utilize, and open data of 3D urban models. The following factors drive the project:
- Digitalization of urban planning: Modern urban planning must address increasingly complex and diverse challenges. To tackle this, digital technology is required to streamline the urban planning process and make more accurate decisions.
- Promotion of open data: By making national and local government data available, private companies, researchers, and citizens are expected to create new ideas and services, leading to economic growth and resolving regional issues.
- Efforts towards Society 5.0: The Japanese government’s Society 5.0 aims to create a sustainable, livable, and inclusive society by leveraging digital technology. 3D urban models serve as a crucial foundation for realizing this vision.
In Project PLATEAU, local public organizations, private companies, researchers, engineers, and creators from all over Japan collaborate to develop 3D urban models and various use cases utilizing them. This initiative aims to achieve urban digital transformation, including urban management, consolidation of urban functions, and sustainable community building, ultimately contributing to solving social and regional challenges.
What is PLATEAU VIEW?
PLATEAU VIEW is a visualization environment for 3D urban models developed as part of the “Project PLATEAU” led by MLIT. It provides a comprehensive system for 3D urban models and use case development, including programs, servers, and data.
Precisely, the system visualizes not only 3D urban models but also displays various data used for analysis and simulation. This allows for the evaluation of the value of 3D urban models.
In this project, PLATEAU VIEW 1.0 was developed and released in 2020, and PLATEAU VIEW 1.1, with added features, was created and updated in 2021. In 2022, PLATEAU VIEW 1.1 was expanded, and PLATEAU VIEW 2.0, with added data registration, management, and distribution functions, was developed and updated.
PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 features a content management system (PLATEAU CMS/Editor) that enables data registration, management, and distribution for 3D urban models and use cases and a visualization function for 3D urban models developed in more than 100 cities nationwide.
Additionally, it offers WebGIS (PLATEAU VIEW) for the general public and administration, which displays various data, such as urban planning decision information, human flow data, and urban asset data, overlaid on 3D urban models in a lightweight and high-speed manner.
Release of Source Code and Demonstration Environment Setup Guide
The source code for PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 and a manual for setting up its execution environment have been released.
The source code for PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 is available on Project PLATEAU’s GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license.
Demonstration Environment Setup Manual Version 3.0
The Demonstration Environment Setup Manual Version 3.0 explains features, system environment, specifications, and construction methods, providing insights for local governments and private companies to build a 3D urban model visualization environment. Demonstration Environment.
Setup Manual:
Two Key Features of PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 Adopting Re: Earth
PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 offers two innovative features: data management and data visualization. The data management function relies on the headless CMS, PLATEAU CMS. PLATEAU Editor and PLATEAU VIEW provide the data visualization function.
Using these tools, users can manage and visualize various data on a digital 3D globe on the web.
PLATEAU CMS
The data management function comes from the headless CMS, PLATEAU CMS. This CMS enables various stakeholders to manage and publish PLATEAU-related data centrally set through APIs.
PLATEAU Editor / PLATEAU VIEW
PLATEAU Editor is a tool that supports creating and publishing web applications, allowing for workspace creation, project management, layer arrangement, style settings, infobox and widget editing, and plugin installation. Web applications published from PLATEAU Editor become PLATEAU VIEW.
Designed based on Re: Earth, PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 allows for data management and visualization with minimal technical cost, enabling efficient data utilization without investing in a dedicated content development team. Eukarya aims to promote data utilization and provide effective business support through this innovative system.
Re: Earth’s Vision for a Future as a Digital Public Good
Digital Public Goods refer to digital resources that pursue public interest and provide value to society by leveraging the internet and digital technologies. These public goods are openly available as open source or open data, allowing anyone to use, modify, and redistribute them freely. Digital public goods support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and resolve social issues through international collaboration in development and dissemination.
Eukarya has continually developed Re: Earth with open source in mind. As a digital public good that provides public value, PLATEAU VIEW 2.0, built on the foundation of Re: Earth, is also open-sourced, reflecting the nation’s initiatives.
Moving forward, Eukarya will continue to promote the formation of public value in the digital realm while building sustainable relationships with local governments and administrations.
Comments from stakeholders
Mr. Yuma Uchiyama, Assistant Director, Urban Policy Division, City Bureau (MLIT)
Since the start of Project PLATEAU in the 2020 fiscal year, the project has gradually shifted from a national-led approach to a flat collaboration among the national government, local public entities, and the private sector.
The biggest challenge for local public entities to take the initiative in 3D city modeling is their staff's need for more tools and expertise to handle 3D city models. Therefore, the concept of PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 emerged, allowing for database management and front-end customization on the web without coding.
Eukarya is a startup with deep expertise in digital twin and GIS, having developed their proprietary WebGIS framework, “Re: Earth.” Additionally, Eukarya already provides open-source tools like Re: Earth and Resium, aligning with PLATEAU’s philosophy of embracing open source.
As PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 enters the full-scale operation phase, we would like to continue aiming for a world where local public entity staff can utilize 3D city models with their ideas while utilizing the insights Eukarya has cultivated.
Kenta Tamura, CEO, Eukarya Inc.
Maps are essential infrastructures that support our lives, and many pieces of information can be managed by associating them with locations. By developing the digital twin platform “Re: Earth,” we aim to realize an environment where information associated with sites can be managed and diverse applications can be created.
Since its inception, Eukarya has been committed to open source, striving to develop software that everyone in the world can handle. Adopting Re: Earth in PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 has added the context of “digital public goods” to Re: Earth as a map data and supporting system. This is an honor for the open source-minded development team at Eukarya, who wish to create something good for the world.
It has been challenging for startups to participate in government projects. Still, we are grateful for the adoption of Re: Earth and the cooperation we have received from various stakeholders and our development team, who have focused on development for the past year.
In 2023, we will continue to enhance the functionality of “PLATEAU VIEW 3.0” based on Re: Earth, playing a significant role in Project PLATEAU.
Try the same environment as PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 on Re: Earth Cloud
PLATEAU VIEW 2.0 is built in the same environment as Re: Earth Cloud. Create an account on Re: Earth Cloud and experience 3D city modeling for yourself!
Register for an account here:
If you would like to learn how to use Re: Earth, we hold monthly hands-on workshops online. Please join them as well. (In Japanese)
Contact
Eukarya Inc.
Secretariat/Public Relations: Shin Komiya
Email: shin538@eukarya.io
