Representation of Modelling Data in Virtual Worlds

In complex environments, modelling illuminates the consequences of our actions or our failure to act. However, the message can be lost through poor communication. Knowledge sharing among scientists, decision-makers and the broader public can be enhanced through presentation in virtual worlds. In a virtual world, modelled environmental change may be merged with semi-realistic representations such that all users can understand and learn from exploration of the modelled environment. This paper discusses representation options including: the choice of specific, typical, representative or generic vegetation; the combination of vector data with imagery or raster data as components of the surface drape; the options for portrayal of underground data such as depth to water table or its salinity; and the combination of these elements for communication of emerging or planned scenarios. The presentation choices are described in the context of automated creation of virtual worlds from spatial data infrastructure, and the use of these worlds as spaces for collaborative engagement on environmental issues. The development of this automated process and software for creation of three-dimensional landscape models from two-dimensional spatial data has been described in Stock et al (in press). Briefly, there are two stages of software use: a Builder which is written in Visual Basic and works in the ArcGIS or ArcServer environments (www.esri.com) to create the 3D models; and, a Viewer which is developed from Torque Game Engine (TGE from www.garagegames.com) and allows users to view, explore and collaborate in the virtual world. Together these form SIEVE (Spatial Information Exploration and Visualisation Environment). SIEVE also supports representation of underground layers such as water-table (Figure 1). [GRPAHICS] A public evaluation of representational options is also reported. The small survey (N=12) supported the importance of foreground detail and the benefits of aerial imagery as a terrain drape. The advantages of combining a standard aerial photo drape with thematic data, the importance of moving beyond wholly generic vegetation, and the ability of people to view a combination of a realistic surface view with an abstract underground view while using surface objects to understand the subsurface scaling were also apparent. Broadly, the more detail and the more options that can be provided the better people will understand the issues and relationships which initiate the modelling process.