Proposal of data source and method for creating 3D models of buildings

The main objective of this research was to investigate how oblique imagery can be used to create simple models of buildings. Necessary data for this purpose may be acquired during field surveys, but not all details (in particular the roof) can be seen from the ground level. On the other hand, vertical aerial photos and high-resolution satellite images are not able to present the walls of buildings. Therefore, oblique photos might be a compromise. Such pictures show not only the shape but also the relationships between buildings and their surroundings. Oblique photos can be seen on Google Maps and Bing Maps. But none of them can be legitimately used for community projects like OpenStreetMap (OSM), aimed at creating editable and available without restriction map of the world. Instead, in case of hilly and mountainous areas, taking pictures from points high enough to allow good observation of the area of interest can also be considered sufficient source of such information instead of aerial oblique photos. On that basis the height of buildings, their colors and layout and color of roofs can be determined. The results of the research show, that it is possible to use oblique photographs to construct simplified models of buildings, which satisfy the requirements set by simple 3D buildings schema prepared by OSM developers.