Being able to access OpenStreetMap in the Esri software as a basemap has always been helpful, but those of us who use 3D data regularly have had to load the vector data and build the data, which is very time-consuming.
You can now simply go here and open an Esri 3D WebScene. These 3D scene layers feature global buildings and trees, with trees presented in two styles (realistic and thematic). These scene layers can be used in Scene Viewer, ArcGIS Pro, and other ArcGIS apps that support 3D visualization. Like with the OpenStreetMap vector basemap hosted by Esri, they build these 3D scene layers using the OpenStreetMap Daylight Map Distribution; this ensures compatibility and consistency when using the web scene data.
You can read the original article on Esri’s ArcGIS blog here.
That is not all. With the June release of ArcGIS Online, you can now create a 360 VR scene straight from your web scene. By simply clicking on the ‘create web app’ button, you can then begin creating a 360 VR experience.
With a little work, it is not hard to create a visualization that may be used for urban planning, architecture, or any other purposes as an immersive experience in a VR headset like the Oculus Quest or Vive.
Esri has not made a big deal of this at the moment, but these two new releases, when used together, open the doors for many GeoBIM, architectural, and planning applications as one can create a twin (digital) environment and walk around it at scale to understand the impact and change. Where it is easily created and changed, it allows collaboration and sharing in teams or even public consultation.
Watch this video that shows how the 360 VR experience works.
We may see a lot more of these at the upcoming 2022 Esri User Conference.
