Urban Visualization on Mobile
Devices
Developing Interactive Urban
Simulations on the Unity
Platform
Martins Innus, Center for Computational Research, University at Buffalo
Visualization Overview
 Visualization Applications Being Used
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Hand Renders and Physical Models
Photo-simulation
3D Modeling and Animation
Interactive Simulation
Real-time Vs. Animation
 Real-time
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Images created “on-the-fly” - PC drawing geometry and textures every frame
Similar to today’s video games
interactive - user can navigate environment on their own
 Animation
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Computing done ahead of time producing a video
Capable of higher resolution (shadows, reflectivity, lighting effects, etc)
Animation
Real-time
Current Engine
 Self Built
 Based on OSG
 Many custom capabilities
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Traffic
GIS
Large Datasets
Cross Platform
• TDW, laptop, etc
Current Examples
 3 University Campuses
Current Examples
 Casselberry Florida Interchange
 Traffic
 Roadway proposal
New Functionality Needed
 Web based
 Larger Distribution
 Mobile Solutions
 Cross Platform Maintenance
 Still flexible & extensible
 Free deployment
First Attempts
 Home built web plugin
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Cumbersome to maintain
API changes between versions
No unified browser API
Security/Authentication questions
 WebGL
 Incomplete solution
• Still would need wrappers for high–level
functionality
 No Microsoft support
Open Alternatives
 WebGL
 No Microsoft Support
 3rd party workarounds for IE
 O3D
 Developed by Google
 Sits on top of WebGL
 X3D
 Successor to VRML
 Minimal acceptance
 OSG
 Community support for mobile and web
Results of Investigation
 All still need some platform
dependent development
 No Open alternative has significant
traction
 Don’t see this changing anytime soon
 Need a product that will support
 Windows/Mac/Linux
 iOS/Android
Unity 3D
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Terrain System
Lighting
Water
Sky
Shadows
Others high-end
visual effects
Why we chose Unity
 Large Use base
 Market penetration in the game market
 Flexible licensing
 Drag and Drop interface
 One click cross platform Deployment
 Mac,PC, Web, Mobile
 Unity handles platform specifics
transparently
 Selectable fidelity
 Visual effects
 Extensible with scripting
UB Explorer
iOS Specifics
 Create a version of UB Explorer for iOS
 Optimize for mobile device capabilities
 Redesign interface for mobile devices
• Touch input
• Sensor input
– Gyroscope
– Compass
– Accelerometer
 Port current capabilities
 GIS, Traffic, etc
Mobile Optimization
 Initial attempt crashed
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Removed demanding model details
Switched to faster, simpler shaders
Refactored scripts for iOS efficiency
Configured static draw call batching
Applied Unity 3.5’s level of detail (LOD) switching
Created a lower LOD for buildings
Used an older, simpler water simulation
 Went from crashing to 30 frames per second
LOD Examples
Interface Redesign
 Originally designed for keyboard and
mouse
 Mobile devices use touch and other
sensors
 User tasks:
 Navigation
 Building Selection
Navigation
 Touch-based joysticks
 Familiar layout for console game
players
 OK for iPad, difficult on iPhone
 Gyroscope, compass, and GPS
 Highly engaging, helpful when on
campus
 Sensitive to jitter, inconsistent
horizontal rotation
Navigation
 Gestures
 Familiar interactions for iOS users
 Some oversensitivity in 3D space
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/03/28/touch-hardware-and-windows-8.aspx
Building Selection
 Works similar to
existing system
 Simulates mouse
with touch
 Supports multi-touch
 Opens links
 Plays video
Geographic Information System
 Displays Shapefiles (.shp) as 3D
objects
 Points, Lines, and Polygons
 Spheres, LineRenderers, and
Triangulated Meshes
Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System
 Loads files sent from
other apps
 Extracts from ZIP
files
 Offers file
management through
an iOS view
Concerns/Limitations
 Licensing changes
 Company Longevity/Support
 WTK, SGI (Performer)
 Incompatible updates
 Vega/Vega Prime
 Controlled by an outside organization
 Plug-in update problem
 Linux support is evolving
Future Work
 Test, test, test!
 Enhance interactivity
 Implement GPS/Augmented Reality
features for enhanced on-campus
viewing
 Port to more platforms
 Android
 Windows Phone 8
Unity Examples
 UB Campuses
 Leverage Existing Data
More Information
 www.unity3d.com
 www.buffalo.edu/virtualtour
 ccr.buffalo.edu/services/visualization/urba
n-visualization.html
Acknowledgments
 Dr. Thomas Furlani, Director, CCR
 Adrian Levesque, CCR
 Thomas Yearke, Summer Intern
 Samantha Haney, Summer Intern