Dubai: Dubai Municipality will start work on a project this month to create a 3D (three-dimensional) map of Dubai using images captured by drones, a senior official said.
The map is expected to be ready by the end of 2015.
It could be made available to the public after an audit and approval process, said Abdul Hakim Abdul Kareem Malek, director, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department, Dubai Municipality.
The ‘precise photography’ map, which will be updated every six months, will aid government departments and emergency services in their planning and operations. The area to be covered will span around 1,300 square kilometres.
His comments came on the sidelines of the municipality’s GIS & Remote Sensing Annual Scientific Forum, held in conjunction with the Middle East Geospatial Forum in Dubai.
Officials will be able to use a 360-degree view of a building, including all sides, angles, facades and the roof. They will be able to spot if an illegal structure has been built on the rooftop, for example. Health and food inspectors and safety teams will be able to assess the location and size of entrances or obstructions, Malek added.
The map also has “safety and security” applications for use by law enforcement agencies, he said. “There will be no need to go in your car in traffic to look at something,” Malek said.
Dubai’s own 3D version will go steps further than Google Street View, which provides a 360-degree view at street level, Malek added. It will also use a composite image processed from many different images to provide one “real” 3D picture.
“[With Google Street View] no road means no 360-degree view. If there’s no street, you will not get a 3D view. But Dubai Municipality is making its own 3D map of Dubai now, using octocopters that will take sharp pictures as they fly over Dubai,” Malek said. Additionally, the map will provide “tabular information” such as what office is located on each floor of a building, for example.
The director added that privacy concerns for the project have been taken into account — the images will capture only objects and areas already in public view.
“Privacy is covered, we won’t show inside the building. For roofs, they will be used by inspectors and police for security and safety.”
However, certain sensitive installations, buildings or structures will be “audited” out. The map will be used by government agencies and, in some special permission cases, by semi-government entities, Malek added.
After release to state authorities, a modified version of the map may be made available to the public, possibly even in the form of a mobile app, he said. The initial viewing is planned over an inter-department government website link.
“At least what’s not confidential, we may show that to the public. It will be a much sharper, accurate 3D view of Dubai made by Dubai Municipality. This is the first 3D project for Dubai. Some street views [applications] are old.”
In 2016, there is also a plan to release a new colour-coded cartographic map of Dubai that shows parks, beaches and other points of interest in a viewer-friendly format.
