High-resolution 3D modelling and visualization of Mount Everest
In the year 1988, a new topographical map 1:50,000 of the Mount Everest region was published by the National Geographic Society. The full map content was derived from aerial images of scale 1:35,000, acquired in a 1984 photogrammetric flight. This highly acclaimed topographical map, produced with Swiss photogrammetric and cartographic know-how, serves until nowadays as an important work of reference. We took the analogue data (images, contours), converted them into digital form through scanning, and produced a texture-mapped 3D computer model. With a DTM of 10 m grid-size and natural texture pixel-size of 1 m this model is currently the best dataset available for an area of 25 by 25 km2 around the summit of Mount Everest. This paper reports about the production procedure of the model and shows some high-resolution photorealistic visualization results. The dataset has been used in the meantime by cartographers and animation experts for the production of new map-related visualization products and is much sought after by scientists of various disciplines.
visualization dtm generation texture mapping orthoimage mosaicking kansei