The 3D Land Navigator software was developed through using the WorldShow3D browser and Java 3D APIs. The basic idea is like this: first take the aerial images of the land surface and divide them into map cells. For each map cell, the 3D geometries can be constructed according to the actual physic dimensions and the texture mappings. The navigation software always loads the map cells that are near the viewer's position, and combines them together to form a seamless 3D scene.
Please go to the following web site to see more about this application. From there you can download the demo package to navigate Detroit's downtown.
http://worldshow3d.home.comcast.net/map3d.htmlWe would appreciate if you let us know the performance and any problems.
WorldShow3D Software Company
