Natural Heritage Reconstruction Using Full-Color 3D Printing: A Case Study of the Valley of Five Polish Ponds

Jakub Wabiński and Albina Mościcka
Additional contact information
Jakub Wabiński: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Military University of Technology, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland
Albina Mościcka: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Military University of Technology, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: The research presented in this paper proposes a method for the development of photorealistic, physical terrain models using full-color 3D printing, along with an efficiency assessment (i.e., cartographic correctness). The rapid development of 3D printing technology in recent years has caused a growth in the number of solutions allowing the automatic or semi-automatic generation of digital terrain representations that can be then 3D printed. Unfortunately, most of these solutions do not consider cartographic principles and their products cannot be referred to as 3D maps. The methodology proposed in this paper takes into account issues related to proper cartographic design, so that highly reliable models can be created. The main challenges identified during the research include choosing the optimal pixel size for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generation, which is used for landform representation, and integrating raster and vector data. Printing accuracy assessment is of high importance and, thus, a method for its implementation has been proposed. In order to verify the usability of the proposed methodology, the natural heritage site of the Valley of Five Polish Ponds, in the Tatra Mountains, Poland, has been chosen as the case study area. The results suggest that the proposed methodology can be successfully used for the preparation of highly accurate 3D maps that can be used for natural heritage documentation, promotion and visualization, as well as for the purposes of spatial planning and education.

Keywords: 3D printing; terrain model; natural heritage reconstruction; accuracy assessment; digital elevation model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/5907/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/5907/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:5907-:d:279729

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().