Patent ID: 8791947

Claim:
A method comprising: selecting, by one or more computing devices, from a plurality of nodes, a set of nodes for rendering a 3D model using a set of camera parameters based on at least a threshold error value, each node corresponding to a bundle of data for rendering aspects of the 3D model at a particular resolution and the set of camera parameters including a point of view for rendering the 3D model; for a given node of the set of nodes, determining, by the one or more computing devices, a smallest circle of confusion within a bounding box of a geographic area of the given node using the set of camera parameters closest to a particular parameter of the set of camera parameters; comparing, by the one or more computing devices, a diameter of the smallest circle of confusion to the threshold error value; adjusting, by the one or more computing devices, the threshold error value based at least in part on the diameter and the comparison; and selecting, by the one or more computing devices, a new node of the plurality of nodes to replace the given node in the set of nodes based on at least in part the adjusted threshold error value.