Modularisation Change Requests | OGC
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LODs are also characterised by differing accuracies and minimal dimensions of objects cf. Tab. 3. The accura- cy requirements given in this standard are debatable and are to be considered as discussion proposals. Accuracy
is described as standard deviation of the absolute 3D point coordinates. Relative 3D point accuracy will be
added in a future version of CityGML and it is typically much higher than the absolute accuracy. In LOD1, the positional and height accuracy of points should be 5m or less, while all objects with a footprint of at least 6m by
6m should be considered. The positional and height accuracy of LOD2 is proposed to be 2m or better. In this LOD, all objects with a footprint of at least 4m × 4m should be considered. Both types of accuracies in LOD3
should be 0.5m, and the minimal footprint is suggested to be 2m × 2m. Finally, the positional and height accura- cy of LOD4 should be 0.2m or less. By means of these figures, the classification in five LOD may be used to
assess the quality of 3D city model datasets. The LOD categorisation makes datasets comparable and provides support for their integration.
LOD0 LOD1
LOD2 LOD3
LOD4
Model scale description regional,
landscape city, region
city, city districts, projects
city districts, architectural
models exteri- or, landmark
architectural models interi-
or, landmark Class of accuracy
lowest low
middle high
very high Absolute 3D point accuracy
position height lower than
LOD1 55m
22m 0.50.5m
0.20.2m Generalisation
maximal generalisation
object blocks as generalised
features; 66m3m
objects as generalised
features; 44m2m
object as real features;
22m1m constructive
elements and openings are
represented Building installations
no no
yes representative
exterior features real object form
Roof structurerepresentation yes
flat differentiated roof
structures real object form
real object form Roof overhanging parts
yes no
yes, if known yes
yes CityFurniture
no important objects
prototypes, gener- alized objects
real object form real object form
SolitaryVegetationObject no
important objects prototypes, higher
6m prototypes,
higher 2m prototypes, real
object form PlantCover
no 5050m
55m LOD2
LOD2 …to be continued for the other feature themes
Tab. 3: LOD 0-4 of CityGML with their proposed accuracy requirements discussion proposal, based on: Albert et al. 2003.
Whereas in CityGML each object can have a different representation for every LOD, often different objects from the same LOD will be generalised to be represented by an aggregate object in a lower LOD. CityGML supports
the aggregation decomposition by providing an explicit generalisation association between city objects further details see UML diagram in chapter 10.1.