A synchronized approach for integrating photos and 3D GIS in the applications of disaster management

Photos are an effective tool for recording ongoing disaster situations or damages after hazards. The emergence of smartphones has revolutionary influences on the use of photos. Even the general public can take photos, report any disaster situations they observe via mobile network, and share photos in social media because nearly everyone has a smartphone. These photos may provide valuable information about the disaster in reality. In addition to visual inspection, effectively and efficiently taking advantage of the available photos remains an interesting challenge. From a 3D perspective, we propose a synchronized approach for integrating the visualization and manipulation of photos and 3D geographic information system (GIS) data. The photos provide newly acquired disaster situations, while the 3D GIS data provide a realistic and comprehensive reference and links to other domain data to analyze damages from different viewpoints effectively. The key idea is to restore the position and orientation when the photo is taken in the system and synchronize the visualization of both types of data with a dual-window interface. If common feature points between the photos and 3D GIS data can be found, the damage assessment can be even more accurate. This approach will be extremely useful when before-and-after situations are compared. With the awareness of environment changes and willingness of participation from citizens increase, the proposed approach presents a new direction by highlighting the use of photos for improved decision making in disaster management.