VC Database

The VC Database v5 (VCDB) is a 3D geo database to store, represent, and manage virtual 3D city models within a standard spatial relational database. The database model contains semantically rich, hierarchically structured, multi-scale urban objects, facilitating complex GIS modeling and analysis tasks, far beyond visualization.

The database schema of the VCDB v5 results from a systematic mapping and complete implementation of the data model defined in the OGC CityGML 3.0 Conceptual Model, an international standard for representing and exchanging virtual 3D city models, issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

Key features of VCDB v5

  • Full support for CityGML versions 3.0, 2.0 and 1.0

  • Complex thematic modeling including support for Application Domain Extensions (ADE)

  • Four (CityGML 3.0) or five (CityGML 2.0 and 1.0) different Levels of Detail (LoDs)

  • Appearance information (textures and materials)

  • Digital terrain models (DTMs) represented as TINs

  • Representation of generic and prototypical 3D objects

  • Free, also recursive aggregation of geo objects

  • Flexible 3D geometries such as Solid, CompositeSolid, MultiSurface, CompositeSurface, Polygon, TINs, MultiCurve, CompositeCurve, LineString, Point, and MultiPoint

  • Database functions to delete complex objects including all their nested sub-objects and geometries. As an alternative, objects can only be marked as terminated, which leaves them in the database but sets their termination date timestamps accordingly. This realizes a simple but powerful historization / versioning mechanism.

  • vcdb-tool for importing and exporting CityGML datasets of any size, supporting both GML and CityJSON encodings. It works with CityGML versions 3.0, 2.0, and 1.0, as well as CityJSON versions 2.0, 1.1, and 1.0. Additionally, it enables seamless on-the-fly upgrading and downgrading between different versions.