Smart city Photo: VCG

China is making rapid progress in the construction of real-scene 3D city models, accelerating the construction of smart cities. The preliminary construction of the 3D Real Scene China, a real-time model of the physical world enabled by advanced telecoms and digital-sensing technologies, is expected to be completed this year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), CCTV News reported on Monday.

This initiative has already seen nearly 300 cities at or above the prefecture level complete the 3D modeling of their buildings, which has played a significant role in supporting urban renewal, serving people's lives, and enabling the digital economy, according to the CCTV News report. 

Liao Anping, an official of the MNR, said that the data elements for the 3D Real Scene China have been developed in a systematic and scalable way. Meanwhile, the production of 3D models for buildings in nearly 300 cities has been completed, per the report. 

Real-scene 3D technology essentially uses modern techniques such as remote sensing, big data, cloud computing, and intelligent perception to create 3D models in the virtual digital world that are almost identical to real-world scenes. This technology provides a 3D spatial base map for various tasks, including smart city construction, refined urban management, and emergency rescue.

According to Liao, during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), efforts will continue to advance the automation and intelligence of 3D real-scene data processing. The aim is to address the bottlenecks and difficulties in application services, making the self-reliant and controllable real-scene 3D technology system more complete, according to CCTV News. 

There will also be continuous innovation in product types to form a more comprehensive data resource system for 3D Real Scene China, integrating above-ground and underground, land and sea, and 2D and 3D elements, the official said.

According to CCTV News, the application service for 3D Real-Scene China has successfully established a nationwide network. This integrated network has been instrumental in providing robust support for urban planning initiatives, enhancing disaster prevention and mitigation efforts, and aiding in the preservation of historical and cultural heritage sites.

The MNR indicated that China has achieved self-reliance and control in core technologies such as the collection of real-scene 3D entity data and spatial identity coding. A real-scene 3D technology system characterized by digital modeling production, entity-based integrated management, and knowledge-based service application has been preliminarily established, said the ministry.

China will leverage its advantages in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, large language models, and spatiotemporal computing to further expand the application scenarios of real-scene 3D technologies in various industries, said the report.

Experts noted that the completion of the 3D Real-Scene China will significantly enhance urban smart applications. For example, in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province, real-scene 3D technology has empowered more than 60 fields, particularly through deep integration with urban management. 

Gao Guangliang, a local engineer, said that the area's real-time real-scene 3D map allows the city to be visualized in three dimensions. This technology enables precise measurements of distance, height, and other parameters, and provides clear views of urban infrastructure such as streetlights, facilitating more effective urban management and planning, according to CCTV News. 

Global Times