MY FINAL PROJECT: Google Sketchup Models of some OWU buildings
September 9, 2009
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=15830472032675572507&scoring=m
The link above will take you to the Google Sketchup Warehouse which contains some of the buildings on the OWU campus that I created with the program.
These are not the final models, because I may add photo layers on top of the textures, in order to provide the viewers with a more realistic view of the buildings on campus.
To view the models above:
Simple View – Just click on the link above, then click on the “3D” button and view the model in simple 3D form
Google Sketchup – Click on the link above, and click on the download button below the image of the model, and download to Google Sketchup
Google Earth – Click on the link above, and click on the download button below the image of the model, and download to Google Earth. I prefer that you view these models with Google Earth, so that the 3D experience is more enhanced with terrain details.
Please view and rate my models!
Any suggestions/comments? Email me at rlstclai@owu.edu
Delaware Data Review
May 5, 2009
Ha ha wow, I guess I didn’t post my blog on this. Here it is…kind of late…kind of put together. I will do my best on remembering what each data was for.
Delaware Master Address Points: This was a point feature of all of the address listed in Delaware County, Ohio.
Annexations: This must have been all of the land that the townships have annexed throughout time all over Delaware County.
Archeological Sites: Another point feature of all of the archeological sites in the county.
Bench Marks: ??? These were again more point features spread across the county.
Building Outlines: This was pretty interesting so see that someone at DALIS had enough time to draw the outlines of every building in the county.
Census Block Group: Breaks up the county into population density.
Census Tract: Must be the same data as the Census Block Group but divided even more into blocks of pop. dens.
Farmlot: The county was divided into a sort of grid system.
Floodplain 100yr and 500yr: This shows the possible areas of flooding in 100 or 500 years.
Floodways: This shows the Delaware Run and other rivers and water ways throughout the county.
Historical Local and National: This shows all of the buildings in the county that are on the list of historical monuments or buildings for the local or national level.
Hydro: Again, another way to point out the major water ways in the county.
Hydro Detail: Same as the hydro data, but now smaller water ways are included into a second layer.
Landmarks: This data places points of interest around the county.
Municipalities: This data shows the different townships around the county.
Natural Heritage ODNR: I have no idea what this data was for. Very few data points were shown on the map.
Orthophoto (including detailed): This took FOREVER to load. Although it does show an aerial photo of the county, therefore making the DALIS online prject thingy available.
Parcels: This is shown by divisions of property in the county.
Public Land Survey System: Another grid of the county.
Railroad: This shows all of the railroads that cross the county.
Road Center Line and Right of Way: This showed all of the roads in the county. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two sets of data.
School Districts: Speaks for itself. The county was shown divided into school districts.
Soils: Wow. A lot of different types of soil in the county.
Subdivisions: Some parcels seemed to have been joined in this data.
Tax District: This divides the county into tax districts.
Topography: Well, it basically adds in the topography of the county. Not too hard to understand.
Townships: The county is divided into several townships.
Townships Historical: This shows all of the original township grids without annexations.
Watersheds: Shows the drainage basins around the county.
Woodland ODNR: Shows all of the woodland in the county. Much of it was in the northeast of the county, less in the south.
Zip Codes: Divides the county into zip code zones.
Zoning: The first layer was weird, only highlighiting some of the roads. And the second layer only selected downtown Delaware.
The following link is to the website where my 3-D designs of the campus buildings are located:
Ohio Wesleyan University 3-D-ifyed
*Please note, that Google Earth must be installed to view the designs to the fullest*
Enjoy!
So, here is my blog of my blogs (ha ha). Although I may hve not blogged on all the readings I have completed, it doesn’t mean I didn’t actually read. The radings were very intersting and helpful in knwoing exactly what GIS is. The ArcGIS book was especially interesting, and I would recommend that tutorial to kids age 4-10. (Just joking, but in reality, all the books and the tutorial really did help me get through this course)
W J 14 - Schuurman Ch. 1
GIS Applications in Engineering
W F 4 - Ohio Wesleyan Public Transport Potential (Before I changed my project)
Ohio Wesleyan Public Transport Potential IDEAS
W F 18 - Creating a 3-D Map of Ohio Wesleyan University
- Final designs for my project
Getting to know ArcGIS Desktop
Tha tha tha tha tha tha that’s all folks!
GTK ArcGIS Chapter 5
March 2, 2009
Exercise 5a
In this short exercise, I learned how to change the color scheme of symbols on the map using ArcMap. By changing size and color, I could make the data appear more in conrast than before.
Exercise 5b
In this second exercise, I learned how to further change the symbols on the map of Africa. I added labels to counry names, and changed their color scheme to clearly distinguish between border countries, and I added two layers of bodies of water, rivers and streams.
Exercise 5c
This exercise showed me how I can add symbols on the map for not only cities and rivers, but for animals as well.
Exercise 5d
In this final exercise, I added a topographic section to the map of Africa. While doing so, I learned about the “pyramids” of a topographic map.
GTK ArcGIS desktop Chapter 4
March 2, 2009
Exercise 4a
This exercise showed me how to obtain even further details of maps using the ArcCatalog software, and how to also create thumbnails for certain categories.
Exercise 4b
This exercise showed me how to search for information using either date, geography, or name and location. This can be very helpful in the future when trying to locate specific locations.
Exercise 4c
In this exercise, I learned how to import data from ArcCatalog into ArcMap. There were many steps for this process, but in the end, the steps proved to be very simple to do. In addition, I learned how I can view a printable version of my work using ArcMap.
GTK ArcGIS desktop Chapter 3
February 28, 2009
Exercise 3a
This exercise was the first of many exercises in this tutorial manual. In this exercise, I explored a simple map of the voyage of Amelia Earhart across the circumference of Earth. This exercise explained how simple it was to zoom in and out of map displays, rename certain labels and how to rearrange data on the table of contents to be able to display hidden data on the map.
Exercise 3b
This exercise explained how some data may be too small to identify, therefore zooming in on the area of concern would be appropriate. Additionally, the exercise explained how the “bookmark” tool is used.
Exercise 3c
This quick and easy exercise showed me how to rearrange data in the form of a table in order to clearly display the data from least to most or the other way around. It also showed me how I can measure the distances from one point to another.
Getting to know ArcGIS desktop Chapter 1 and 2
February 28, 2009
These two chapters discussed the basics of ArcGIS softawre. It introduced how and what ArcGIS can be used for and why, and it also discussed the different ways to display the information using this amazing software.
Creating a 3-D Map of Ohio Wesleyan University
February 18, 2009
I recently came up with the idea of creating a 3-D map of Ohio Wesleyan University with in mind that prospective students who visit www.owu.edu only get a 2-D map of OWU where interaction is limited.
Being familiar with Google Earth and Google Sketchup, I decided that these two programs will be used to create a 3-D interactive map of OWU. When completed, the viewer will be able to pan around, zoom in and out. Think of this as using Google Earth.
I had in mind that I wanted people to be able to view all sides of every building on campus here at OWU.
I will take photographs of each building desired to create the textures for the buildings drawn using Google Sketchup. Although this project will take much time to complete, I will only work on the academic side of OWU.
The overall question of this project is “How can prospective students familiarize themselves without having to actually physically visit Ohio Wesleyan University?”
Analyzing the question…
How are 3-D maps of college campus’ created?
Since I will be using Google Sketchup, I did some research of other colleges and universities that have 3-D maps of their campus. Many of my findings of “3-D” maps were not exactly what I was looking for. Many of the sites had drawings of the buildings and only featured one side of the buildings/one point-of-view. Although the drawings/maps were very detailed, most
The following educational institutions feature 3-D interactive maps that will be similar to what my project will turn out to be like :
Bowdoin College: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=00773538091675387320
Saint Francis College: www.maplandia.com/philippines/region-7/negros-oriental/guihulngan/… college/saint-francis-college-google-earth.html
Dallas Theological Seminary: http://www.dts.edu/demo/papervision3d/campusmap/
Marshall University:http://www.marshall.edu/it/virtual-tour/google-earth-3d-tour/3d-gallery.asp
Stanford University:http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/august22/google-082207.html
“Recently graduated senior Joseph Bergen is more familiar with the architectural intricacies of Stanford’s Main Quad than the average observer. After spending about five hours trying to capture every exterior face of the structure on film for a digital 3-D modeling project—snapping nearly 400 pictures—Bergen noticed the subtle differences between the history and math corners, as well as the strange looks from his peers.”
(Segall, Kim news-service.stanford.edu)
The following major universities and colleges have made their campus available in 3-D to the public on Google Earth. (In other words, after installing Google Earth, these following campuses have made their campus model a preset with 3-D buildings)
American University (Partially completed on Google Earth)
Harvard University
Stanford University
Ohio State University
University of Colorado
Georgetown University (Partially completed on Google Earth)
Cleveland State University (Partially completed on Google Earth)
Locating the data…
The data available to me for my project is…
1. Building layouts (the basic shapes)
2. Map of Ohio Wesleyan University
3. Google software (Earth and Sketchup)
The data that I need to generate is…
1. How tall is each building on campus?
2. What are the exact angles of each corner of each building? (In other words, what is the basic map of OWU not showing in detail?)
3. What are the exact measurements of each side of each building?
4. I need to take photographs of each building and the material used to build each building so that i may use that texture to place on the 3-D models.
5. I need to somehow figure out how to place the OWU Campus section of Google Earth onto the University’s website (if OWU agrees to publish my map on the website www.owu.edu)
Although I found several good sources of other universities and colleges using Google Earth to create 3-D Virtual maps of their campus, the best of the sources had not released the steps in how they created their maps. Some sources displayed the steps of how they created a general 3-D map, but those maps were not using Google Earth and were not the exact type of map that I was looking to create.
In the next few days, I am going to contact the University of Stanford and talk to one of the map creaters and see exactly how they created an award-winning 3-D Google Earth map of Stanford University.
So…overall, I need to do the following things this week:
- Take several photographs of one building to test out the features and Google Earth and Sketchup software.
- Contact Stanford University and get details on their project.
- After I create the basic shape of one building, contact OWU Building and Grounds Office and gather the information I need…which are 1. how tall each building is and 2. If they have the exact dimensions of each building
The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis Volume 1: Geographic Patterns & Relationships CHAPTER 7 “Mapping Chanbge”
February 11, 2009
GIS lets you map where things move, or the changing conditions in a place over time. Knowing what’s changed can help you understand how things behave over time, anticipate future conditions, or evaluate the results of an action or policy.
Examples:
1. Meteorologists study the paths of hurricanes to predict when and where the hurricane may take place and how strong.
2. Biologists study the 24-hour movement of animals to determine and understand their foarging habits and why and where the direction is that they are moving.
Another reason for mapping change, is to decide future needs. An example of that is, the police chief of DPD might map out the places on campus where most people are cited/fined/arrested for drinking under the age month by month, and then will use that map to determine when DPD will have to pay attention more, and where to pay most of that attention to.
The impact of the change taking place can clearly be seen when mapping change over time.
Map of Europe in 1909 compared to what we know as Europe 100 years later, 2009
In some cases, mapping out change can be included in to just one map. The link below was taken from the U.S Census Bureau website, showing the population change in Ohio from 1990 to 2000.
In other cases, mapping out change can have a bigger impact using several maps gradually showing the change over a period of time. The link below taken from The Ohio State University website shows three maps of Ohio showing population change from 1970-1980, 1980-1990, and 1990-2000.
The magnitude and location of change can be affected at the same time. For example, in Louisiana, one year before Hurricane Katrina, 2005, Louisiana had a population gain of 7,700, however, in the year of Hurricane Katrina, 2006, Louisiana lost 220,00 people to neighboring states, and many southern residents to flee to the northern part of the state, therefore changing the population growth by county dramatically within the state and in other areas along the state’s border in the counties of other states. In areas where before 2005 the growth was slow, after 2006, the growth rate may have even doubled or tripled since then.
Another example of how change of location and magnitude can happen at the same time is with hurricanes tracks. According to the map below of the 1926 Nassau Hurricane, the characters differed by color, where as the darker red the circle became, the stronger the hurricane developed into, and the blue meant strong winds. However, characters of change on a map can also vary by size, so to perhaps show more impact, the map could have used one color and only vary the circles by size according to the strength.
Mapping change can be maps of features that move, such as hurricanes, bird flight patterns, wildfires moving across acres, etc, and also to map the change of features like population change, crime rate change, average income change, etc.
Events, such as crimes or earthquakes, represent geographic phenomena that occur at different locations. While each individual event occurs at a specific location at a specific instant, the set of events can be tracked and mapped to show the movement of the phenomena over a period of time. For example, by mapping calls to 911 reporting drug-related activity, you can get a sense of where drug dealing has moved over several months.
CONTINUOUS CATEGORIES
These show the type of features in a place, such as land cover type. They can be represented by boundaries or as a surface.
CONTINUOUS VALUES
These are quantities that are continuous, such as air pollution levels. At any location, there is a measure of the values. this data is often monitored at fixed points–such as air quality monitoring stations–and interpolated to create a surface.
The time pattern you’re mapping, and how you partition the time period you’re dealing with, will affect the geographic patterns you see on you map.
You can map three types of time patterns:
1. A Trend – Change between two (or more) dates or times.
Example: Map of Europe in 1909, and map of Europe in 2009
2. Before and After – Conditions preceding and following an event.
Example: Map of spread of sales for a company day before Super bowl, and then day after Super Bowl.
3. A Cycle – Change over a recurring period of time, such as day, month, or year.
Example: Map of temperature change in a given place as each day unfolds through one full year.
USING A SNAPSHOT OR SUMMARY
Snapshots show the condition at any given moment, and are used to map phenomena that are continuous in time, such as population, land cover, or air quality. At any instant, there is some value for the phenomena.
Summarizing is used for mapping discrete events in a particular place that are not continuous in time. For example, you’d map calls to 911 occurring over a month, or the location of earthquakes over several years.
CHOOSING INTERVALS
When mapping out trends, it helps to divide the data into intervals. For example, when mapping out population of each county in Ohio, data can be collected in the past 20 years. When mapping out the 20-year data, intervals can be created by each year, every 5 years, or two 10-year maps of change.
However, when creating maps of change, one must be watchful on the intervals used as to create or show the change clearly. Therefore, if the population for Delaware County, for example, does not change drastically year by year then perhaps the change would best be seen if it was mapped in intervals of 5 years.
In addition, if the change is rapid, use a shorter interval, and if the change is gradual, then use a larger interval.
Mapping change can include mapping out how much population has changed in 20 years, or mapping change can include how fast or rate of change in percentage form or by using the averages.
THREE WAYS OF MAPPING CHANGE
1. Creating a time series
- Good for showing changes in boundaries, values for discrete areas, or surfaces. In other words, showing the change of population in Ohio with more than 2 maps of Ohio at different decades.
- Basically good for movement or change in character
- Pros are that it is a strong visual impact if change is substantial; shows conditions at each date/time.
- Cons are that readers have to visually compare maps to see where, and how much, change occured.
- Overall, use time series if you want to show snapshots for two or more times–either movement or change in character.
2. Creating a tracking map
- Good for showing movement in discrete locations, linear features, or area boundaries. You create a single map showing the locations of the features at several dates or times. In other words, showing the change of population in Ohio with using only one map, but using maybe a color scheme to show the growth or loss of population.
- Basically for mapping out change in just movement.
- Pros are that it is easier to see movement and rate of change that with time series, especially if change is subtle.
- Cons are that it can be difficult to read if more than a few features are present on the map.
- Overall, use a tracking map if you want to show feature movement between two more more times, or over a recurring period.
3. Measuring and mapping change
- Measure and map change to show the amount, percentage, or rate of change in a place. You calculate the difference in the amount of a category or in the value of a numeric attribute, and display the features based on these values.
- Basically for change in character.
- Pros are that it shows actual difference in amounts or values.
- Cons are that it doesn’t show actual conditions at each time; change is calculated between two times only.
- Overall, measure change if you want to show the calculated difference in an attribute of a place between two times periods.
CREATING A TIME SERIES
Creating a set of time series maps is similar to making maps to show where features are or where the most and the least is. Key to displaying a successful change in magnitude, is to use a scheme applied to the full range of data on all the maps. Set the class ranges to be the same for each map. For example, when looking at three maps of population in Ohio in 1980, 1990 and 2000, the three maps of Ohio should be using the same class range. Instead of one map showing red color to be from 20,000 people, another map showing red to be 15,000 and another for red to be 35,000, it would be easier to compare the three maps if the red color meant more than 20,000 for all three maps.
CREATING A TRACKING MAP
Particularly useful for showing incremental movement of features or phenomena.
For example, let’s use a hurricane tracking system…
When tracking down the path of the hurricane, two ways of tracking the path can be used. One way would be using a short time interval, showing each individual turn that the hurricane made, and the second way would be using a longer time interval which would show less details in the path. when showing the change in wind gusts from the hurricane, color coding or size of dots would greatly show the change. And finally, to show rapid movement of the hurricane, more space between the “dots” would show that effect whereas showing slower movement of the hurricane would display smaller space between the “dots”
Another example of a tracking map, would be the before and after maps of the shoreline in southern Louisiana before and after Hurricane Katrina, which would be an example of linear feature.
Another example, this one of a contiguous feature, would be mapping out the damage from a forest fire from day one to day ten.
