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Generate a 3D Mesh of a Geographic Area
From a digital elevation model to a 3D mesh
3D meshes can be used to represent geographic data such as terrain, buildings and other structures. This mesh can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as urban planning, environmental analysis or virtual reality simulations. However, the process of creating a 3D mesh of a geographical area is not always straightforward, but this guide covers all the necessary steps.
Introduction
To generate a 3D mesh of a given area, elevation data for that area is required. This data is stored in a Digital Elevation Model (DEM):
A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is a type of geographical raster file that is used to represent surface reliefs
A DEM is basically a grid of elevation values. If you want more information, I discussed DEMs in a previous article.
These models are created using one or a combination of the following techniques:
- LiDAR — This method uses a laser scanner to measure the height of the terrain…