Modern game engines like Unity allow users to create realistic 3D environments containing terrains as well as natural and artificial objects easily and swiftly. In addition, recent advances of game engine capabilities enable effortless implementation of virtual reality (VR) compatibility. 3D environments created with VR compatibility can be experienced from an egocentric and stereoscopic perspective that surpasses the immersion of the ‘classical’ screen-based perception of 3D environments. Not only game developers benefit from the possibilities provided by game engines. The ability to use geospatial data to shape virtual 3D environments opens a multitude of possibilities for geographic applications, such as construction planning, spatial hazard simulations or representation of historical places. The multi-perspective, multimodal reconstruction of three-dimensional space based on game engine technology today supports the possibility of linking different approaches of geographic work more closely. Free geospatial data that can be used for spatial reconstructions is provided by numerous national and regional official institutions. However, the file format of these data sources is not standardized and game engines only support a limited number of file formats. Therefore, format transformation is usually required to apply geospatial data to virtual 3D environments. This paper presents several workflows to apply digital elevation data and 3D city model data from OpenStreetMap and the Open.NRW initiative to Unity-based 3D environments. Advantages and disadvantages of different sources of geospatial data are discussed. In addition, implementation of VR compatibility is described. Finally, benefits of immersive VR implementation and characteristics of current VR hardware are discussed in the context of specific geographic application scenarios.

Modern hardware and software innovations in the field of virtual reality (VR), such as VR headsets and accessible game engines, allow cartographers to create 3D environments which can be experienced from the ego perspective in real time and with a simulated illusion of physical presence (immersion) in the virtual representation. The new immersive experience of these virtual environments requires new ideas on how to present and orchestrate geographical information for the benefit of planning applications. This paper intends to present examples how VR-based 3D environments use can be enriched (based on the game engine Unreal Engine 4) to support the district development of a restructured post-industrial area. A VR model of a representative former industrial area in the German Ruhr district which was revitalized and part of a large urban transformation programme (IBA Emscher Park), serves an example. Today, the area of “Zeche Holland” in Bochum-Wattenscheid is characterized by a mix of residential and commercial uses. The area is used as a leisure route for locals and tourists, with an old winding tower as an important urban landmark in its centre. VR techniques allow to transport additional spatial information which cannot be experienced when visiting the real physical area. This paper addresses the potential of immersive VR environments representing a multifaceted and redeveloped area for planning and related usage scenarios. It shows how peculiarities of game engine-based VR can help to extend the immersive (3D) experience of geographic information.

Mental representations of geographic space are based on knowledge of spatial elements and the spatial relation between these elements. Acquiring such mental representations of space requires assessing distances between pairs of spatial elements. In virtual reality (VR) applications, locomotion techniques based on real-world movement are constrained by the size of the available room and the used room scale tracking system. Therefore, many VR applications use additional locomotion techniques such as artificial locomotion (continuous forward movement) or teleporting (“jumping” from one location to another). These locomotion techniques move the user through virtual space based on controller input. However, it has not yet been investigated how different established controller-based locomotion techniques affect distance estimations in VR. In an experiment, we compared distance estimations between artificial locomotion and teleportation before and after a training phase. The results showed that distance estimations in both locomotion conditions improved after the training. Additionally, distance estimations were found to be more accurate when teleportation locomotion was used.

Since the mid-1990s, sound has been discussed and used in multimedia cartography. There are four main variants of auditory map elements that have been established in the theory and practice of audiovisual cartography, i.e. abstract sounds/abstract sound sequences, speech, music and, especially, audiorealistic sequences representing so-called “soundscapes”. In cartography, soundscapes are often addressed in large-scale representations. The term originates in multidisciplinary landscape research. Empirical findings of landscape research, and especially those of social constructivist landscape research, have shown the relevance of non-visual stimuli for people’s individual impressions and meanings of the experienced landscape. Amongst the non-visual landscape dimensions, the auditory dimension is the most prominent one. As 3D cartography offers new methods and techniques of designing and experiencing highly realistic, incl. photo- and audiorealistic landscape representation, this discipline becomes more and more interesting for simulating and presenting multisensory landscapes and for presenting the results of empirical findings in landscape research. After an introduction to traditional means of audiovisual cartography and the relevance of auditory stimuli for social constructivist approaches of landscape research, a modern software-based method is presented which highlights the opportunity to imbed 3D sound data representing a location’s soundscape into audiovisual 3D environments in Virtual Reality (VR). It is technically based on the cross-platform game engine Unity3D. Audiovisuelle Kartographie: Etablierte und neue Methoden zur Repräsentation von Klanglandschaften Seit Mitte der 1990er Jahren wird die akustische Dimension in der Multimediakartographie diskutiert und eingesetzt. Seither haben sich hauptsächlich vier Ausprägungen durchgesetzt, die als akustische Kartenelemente verwendet werden: abstrakte Töne und Tonfolgen, Sprache, Musik und audiorealistische Sequenzen zur Darstellung so genannter soundscapes (dt. „Klanglandschaften“). In der Kartographie beziehen sich Darstellungen von Klanglandschaften häufig auf großmaßstäbige Raumausschnitte. Der Begriff entstammt der multidisziplinären Landschaftsforschung. Empirische Erkenntnisse der Landschaftsforschung, insbesondere der sozialkonstruktivistischen Landschaftsforschung verdeutlichen, dass nicht-visuelle Reize der Landschaft die individuelle Interpretation der erfahrenen Landschaft maßgeblich beeinflussen. Unter den nicht-visuellen Landschaftsdimensionen gilt die akustische Dimension als bedeutendste. Aktuelle Entwicklungen zu Methoden und Techniken der 3D-Kartographie bieten Möglichkeiten zur hochrealistischen Gestaltung und Erfahrung audio-visueller 3D-Landschaften. Dies kann die Landschaftsforschung durch moderne multisensorische Darstellungsformen sowie Ergebnispräsentationen unterstützen. Dieses Paper führt ein in traditionelle Darstellungsvarianten der audiovisuellen Kartographie und diskutiert die Bedeutung der Klanglandschaften für die (sozialkonstruktivistische) Landschaftsforschung. Im Anschluss wird ein aktuelle Software-gestützte Methode zur Implementierung von audiorealistischem 3D-Sound in 3D-Landschaften in Virtual Reality (VR) vorgestellt. Dies basiert auf der plattformübergreifenden Spiele-Engine Unity3D.

Recent advances in augmented reality (AR) technology enable the projection of holograms to a fixed location in 3D space. This renders new possibilities for influencing peoples’ spatial perception and to address cognitive limitations as structural distortions in cognitive representations of space. The study presented in this paper investigated whether these structural distortions can be reduced by projecting a holographic grid into 3D space. Accuracy of the cognitive representation of space was assessed based on distance estimations and an object location memory task. The findings revealed that distance estimations were indeed more accurate when a holographic grid was available. Location memory performance, on the other hand, was worse when a holographic grid was available. Based on feedback from the participants, it can be assumed that design characteristics of the used AR headset are at least partly responsible for this result. These characteristics include a reduced field of view and visual distortions in the peripheral areas of the field of view. Overall, the findings show that AR can be used to influence and, when applied correctly, improve peoples’ spatial perception. However, more research is needed to specify requirements, strengths, and weaknesses of geographic AR applications.