A managed object based method for representing interactive and dynamic features

This paper introduces a generic method for representing geo-spatial features in an object oriented paradigm, and further applies this method for the representation of interactive and dynamic objects in 3D city models. The idea of the proposed method is to represent every geospatial feature as a managed object, which refers to an object-oriented and platform-independent binary representation that carries both the executable behaviors and attribute data regarding a feature. Aiming to be used for large-scale representation and implementation of geospatial data, a conceptual pattern is proposed to structure an interoperable while freely customizable depiction of the spatiotemporal properties, visual properties, thematic properties, and behaviors of geospatial features. A framework that enables the suggested method in a 3D platform is also elaborated. This framework defines the most essential components that support the associations between managed objects and the platform for fulfilling dynamic and interactive visualization tasks. The presented method is implemented in an energy project as a solution for representing energy features that support numerical calculation, dynamic visualization and user interaction. ? 2010 ACM.EI