How to upload SHP files to generate city models in one click and convert them into 3D Tiles files?

GISBox supports importing various types of data into the scene. We can import SHP data and generate a city model with one click. The following is an introduction to the specific operations.

1. Create a new scene

Open GISBox and click the “Add” button in the upper right corner of the scene column to create a new scene.

2. Upload SHP file and generate city model

After successful creation, the scene project will be automatically opened. At this time, the software will prompt us to import OSGB/general model/SHP file. Here we select the corresponding type and import the SHP file.

After the import is successful, the model will be automatically generated in the scene, as shown in the following figure:

3. Edit SHP

Select the SHP model you just created in the scene on the left, and you can change the “Position”, “Rotation” and “Scale” of the model in the style on the right.

If there are problems with the generated SHP model, we can click the “Generate” button in the upper left corner to regenerate it.

In the export above, the generated SHP model can be exported as “3DTiles” or “GLB”, as shown in the following figure:

4. Convert SHP to 3D Tiles

Select the generated SHP model, and then select “Export 3DTiles” in the export above, as shown below:

In the tiling task, click the folder icon on the right to set the path for file export. There are no special requirements for the export path, and it needs to be saved in an empty folder, as shown in the following figure:

Then change the rest of the basic settings, such as “Zero Point Coordinates”, “Size Parameters”, “Texture Compression”, “Vertex Compression”, etc., as shown in the figure below. (Click to view the specific tutorial → General model tiling)

When the settings are completed, click the “Create” button below to start the slicing task. We can view the real-time progress of tiling, as shown in the following figure:

5. Stream

If “Stream as service” is checked in the settings of the tiling task, the model will be automatically distributed after successful slicing (the corresponding service address will be generated). We can view the corresponding model service in the “Service”. The generated service address can be applied to GIS engines such as Cesium or Cesium for Unreal, and can also be applied to digital twin project building platforms, such as Wings Engine.