Three-dimensional mapping is the new wave in mapping technologies; while some people have yet to use them, 3D mapping applications and resources are being used today in many business and leisure activities. Here are just a few ways 3D mapping is used today.

1. Mapping and directions – 3D maps are widely used for general mapping and for gathering directions. Programs such as Google Earth and Bing Maps allow the user to have a more realistic view of what they are mapping, in addition to views of different landmarks along the way.
2. Land use planning – In the land use planning and new development fields, 3D mapping is used in a variety of ways including project planning, surveying, and engineering. With the use of 3D maps, building and improvement projects can be viewed and completed with more accuracy.
3. Real estate – Our world has become a virtual one and the real estate business has embraced this virtual reality completely. Not only can you take a virtual tour of prospective houses, but you can also now take a virtual tour of the neighborhood with the use of 3D maps. This saves real estate agents and prospective homebuyers both time and money by reducing unnecessary house visits – homebuyers can narrow down house choices from their computer.
4. Tourism – Remember when we used to have to visit the bookstore if we wanted to learn more about travel destinations? Not anymore. The tourism industry has expanded its capability – although  3D mapping in the tourism industry is still fairly new, it won’t be long before we are seeing all the sights of our vacations in real form with the use of 3D maps.
5. Outdoor recreation and off-road – Knowing your terrain is a very important aspect of anything outdoors or off-road. The use of 3D maps helps to accurately evaluate terrain information, such as paths, roads, trailheads, etc. And most important, 3D mapping can facilitate the decision-making process, improving safety for hikers and drivers.
6. Flood planning and modeling – 3D mapping is a major application for flood modeling, from both a building-by-building basis and a regional basis. 3D mapping is used in storm surge and catastrophic modeling to help evaluate potential flood disasters and to establish the groundwork for procedures and precautions.
7. Schools – 3D mapping fits right in with lesson plans on geography, culture, and even history in today’s classroom. With the use of 3D maps, a teacher can pull up realistic images and views of landmarks and areas to facilitate teaching.
8. Entertainment – Overall, 3D mapping can just be plain fun. It is interesting and exciting to be able to have both a micro and macro view of life surrounding us.

3D mapping software continues to evolve, with new programs and applications being developed and improved upon every day. These are just a handful of ways that 3D mapping is used today. Who knows what the future holds for 3D mapping technologies, but we are getting closer to a world in which 3D mapping will be integrated throughout our lives on a daily basis.

Tags: 3d mapping, 3D Maps, uses

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 4:08 pm and is filed under 3D Maps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.