Aerial survey specialist Bluesky has launched a new range of highly accurate and detailed 3D city models. The new product range will be available off the shelf and will help improve the management of urban centres providing a new understanding of the built environment with applications including planning and development control, security and emergency response planning, environmental modelling and even potential to revolutionise the gaming and simulator markets.
 
Bluesky city models are created from the most up-to-date vertical aerial photography using the latest 3D software and provide a real world, interactive, geographically accurate representation of the built environment from the desktop.  
 
“We live in a 3D world, it is therefore essential that in order to effectively manage our urban surroundings we have a true representation of every aspect of this extremely complex environment,” said Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky International. “By creating a standard off the shelf product, to a very high specification, available in popular CAD and GIS formats we hope to revolutionise the way we manage and interact with our city centres.”
 
Bluesky 3D City Models will be available for every city in the UK with a population over 100,000 including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as well as Brighton, Nottingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bristol and Cambridge, to name just a few. Created from the most up to date, high-resolution, stereo aerial photography Bluesky 3D city models map every building over 140 cubic metres;. Accurate to +/- 60cm the Bluesky city models also include road detail and an underlying Digital Terrain Map (DTM) to place the urban representation in its true world context. The standard Bluesky 3D city model can be enhanced with the addition of vertical, oblique or ground photography to deliver additional detail and real world visual impact.
 
“The applications for these models are virtually limitless,” continued Tidmarsh “Our customers are already using this type of data to communicate development plans, model and predict flood events and design and manage the delivery of urban regeneration projects.”