We are producing a Graph DB enabled model of the Isle of Wight – with many layers of data in which to perform complex simulations. The Isle of Wight is 22.5 miles (36km) from East to West and 13.5 miles (22km) from North to South forming a diamond shape, bracketed against The Channel to the South and the Solent to the North, the island’s only supplies are sub-marine cables and pipes, seaborne cargo and passengers and air transport.
Based on complex interactions and systems between buildings, people and infrastructure we’re assembling a digital twin of the Island for use as a sandbox for our technology development.
From the Needles to Bembridge
Polaron can unpack the whole OSM DB of the UK – therefore we’re able to cram a huge amount of data into a much smaller area – and render this out at different scales (same amount of data, just different scales of simulation).
This allows us to play around with everything from 12.5cm procedurally augmented and Lidar derived maps through to 25-50m cubes – depending on the type and scale of the simulation.
25m scale – Regional / Administrative
See the whole island at a glance, or zoom in and edit and change functions and see small effects propagate out across the terrain. Close roads, add traffic or flood an area to comprehend it’s impact.
1m scale – means building by building
Quickly zoom in and examine data about a building, it’s function, what it supports and interacts with, and how it might be impacted by a disaster or change to climate.
Or render out whole towns and larger areas in 3D – which is interoperable and shares a common data framework with the terrain engine (optimised for larger areas / continents / countries).
You can use our live 3D & 2D profilers to quickly assess risk, highlight interactions and consider what mitigations might be suitable – then even trial them – using the semantic data to change local, global or geofenced values (e.g. Add insulation to an area).
25cm scale for detailed areas
Zoom in to 25cm scale based on 1m2 lidar augmented by procedural generation and geosemantic data to be able to assess change, damage or how proposed changes might affect the local area, demands and systems.
12.5cm scale for detailed change analysis
Despite being able to render down to sub-cm if the data exists – we’ve found 12.5cm is the right tradeoff between data packing and comprehension of the environment.
This balances the intuition afforded by a 3D map – with the ability to interact with each data point, tune, refine and change data, then propagate our relationships and agents into the scene to simulate different types of event and behaviours. From flooding to Fire, to Road Closure.
From this perspective you can quickly see the interaction of data – or use UPRN numbers to comprehend an individual property’s details, size and use procedural generation to populate it to make it even more realistic.
Geosemantics at 12.5cm
Geosemantics – allows us to not only represent the world based on scan data, be it DEM / DTM / Lidar or SAR, but to then pack it with data. So long as it can be related or inferred it can be used to calculate and simulate the world.
Out goal is to make this easy to use – so that professionals of all walks of life can use this model to quickly assess risks, mitigations and propose and share plans and solutions for a wide range of applications. Simple is hard, but by breaking down the problem into something tangible, we can engage the widest possible audience and expertise.
Damage & Disruption
So whether it’s damage done to a wall, or larger scale impact of various issues, or quantifying the service impact of a burst water main, flood protection or power outage. Polaron’s ability to generate terrain on demand – to augment situational awareness is a huge boost.
Since data can also be added and painted in by hand – which can then also lead to the re-generation of terrain and in some cases on the fly, this allows us to provide a sandbox in which to play, learn and ultimately practice and solve real world issues.
Automation
Whilst practice makes perfect, by permitting users to store queries, assets, models and access data, a lot of the more boring work of profiling and assessing risks and issues can be automated.
This isn’t a “one size fits all” approach – since every town, city and infrastructure is different, and often there isn’t a perfect or accessible data set. However by empowering users to add in data, and leverage our tools it becomes possible to offer a cutting edge modelling service that is easily accessible.
Immersive & VR/AR compatible
If the end user has the ability, it is also possible to export, render or stream a triangle mesh (the basis of most 3D engines) and overlay with textures – to allow end users to have the best of both worlds – the incredibly complex simulation capabilities of Polaron, synced to and accessible in AR & VR with two way synchronisation. Suddenly you can immerse yourself in these environments, walk the streets and assess potential issues in both a data driven and aesthetic manner.
Below is a tech demonstration of a Unity powered FPS demo running on a Polaron simulation of the Berlin Central station, scanned with an Leica BLK2Go and Navlive prototype sensor as part of our work with Horizon’s 5G-Victori programme.
And much more to come…
We’re not yet ready to discuss everything we’re doing here – but it is very exciting! More to follow in Q4-2023 / Q1-2024.