It is a very experimental feature, but you can now add 3D boxes of arbitrary size, orientation, and location into the Explorer (fly-through) view. Any number of boxes can be added to the view. The box properties are contained in a json file (e.g. model.json), and are loaded through the interface - there is a new user input box for this. The json structure is straightforward, for example: {
"models": [
{
"id": "osm_188709102",
"type": "box",
"center": [
1022.16251341931,
613.86812025605786,
1.8745103807381747
],
"size": [
46.462879871294632,
34.4986726674656,
10
],
"rotation": 346.32312765512887
},
}
where the "id" is whatever you would like to call that particular box, "type" is the type of object (right the only option is "box"), "center" gives the x, y, and z coordinates of the center of the box in units of meters relative to the lower, left corner of the simulation grid, "size" gives the width, length, and height of the box in meters, and "rotation" gives the rotation of box in degrees, in the grid coordinate system.
The json snippet above is for one box, just keep adding additional sets of data to the json for more boxes.
Right now, I am using the boxes as building representations, but anything you can represent with a set of boxes can be constructed & rendered (e.g. piers, bridges, etc.). All boxes appear with shades of gray sides, as I am trying to keep the render cost of these objects as low as possible.
The Ventura, Hermosa, Balboa, Newport (CA), Oceanside, Scripps Pier, Morro Rock, Santa Cruz Harbor, Pacifica, and Waimea Bay examples all have "buildings" added. For this, I am using Open Street Maps (OSM) to retrieve the building information, and you will see that this database is often missing small, residental buildings. If anyone is interested, I am happy to provide the code I am using to pull the OSM data.
Below is a snapshot of what the buildings look like, and here is a fly-through video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJyjgJ4wy94
