If successful, we will demonstrate the feasibility of the two technology elements that we believe are necessary to automate the development of photo-realistic 3D models of buildings that are physically consistent with the 3D model inputs for chemical and biological (CB) hazard estimation models. This will enable the development of a full capability that combines these elements into a fully automated system to develop these 3D model data sets. Automation will enable large numbers of buildings to be efficiently transformed into the data required by the CB hazard models and mission planning and training systems. It will also provide the foundational technologies that we believe could then be extended to support additional datasets and ultimately be hardened into a robust tool suitable for a variety of applications. In addition to the chemical and biological defense (CBD) mission planning and training application that this initial effort addresses, we believe that there are significant additional applications where this technology could be applied. Within the government sector we believe that the capability could be utilized to automate the development of photo-realistic training environments for urban mission planning and training for other Department of Defense (DoD) missions. Similar mission planning and training applications exist for domestic emergency response and law enforcement applications where the development of photo-realistic urban landscapes and building interior environments for prescribed locations could be used to improve the mission outcomes through better preparation. Within the private sector we believe that a substantial market exists for the use of the technologies that we propose to develop in this effort. For the architectural design and construction industries this technology could be used to take a survey of a building or multiple buildings and be used to automatically develop computer aided drawing (CAD) representations of a set of buildings and corresponding 3D models. For example, we envision that this could result in a reduction in the man-hours required by architects and designers to create the initial building layout that would then serve as the starting point for a re-design for a building remodel effort. Additionally, the linkage to the CB hazard estimation models further creates a capability for the design of buildings where health and safety from airborne toxins and viruses can be taken into account during the design process. The computer gaming, television, and film industries extensively use computer graphics (CG) representations of urban landscapes and buildings and currently utilize many of the technologies we are employing in this effort for this purpose. As is the case in the building industry the automation of the building of photo-realistic 3D models of existing cities and buildings could lead to a substantial reduction in the level of effort required to create CG products for these applications.
