Google Building Maker - New!

Google Building Maker - New!

Contributors will be able to help creat buildings for over 50 cities.
(likely to expand in the future)


"We [Google] like to think of Building Maker as a cross between Google Maps and a gigantic bin of building blocks. Basically, you pick a building and construct a model of it using aerial photos and simple 3D shapes – both of which we provide. When you're done, we take a look at your model. If it looks right, and if a better model doesn't already exist, we add it to the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth. You can make a whole building in a few minutes."


The YouTube Video shows how fast it is to add/contribute your own buildings, Google will check them and when verified they will acknowledge your work.
Building Maker in Cardiff - with simple tools to create buildings

Requirements before you can contribute:

• Building Maker is an online tool, and it runs entirely in your web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.)
• Before you can add a building to Google Earth, you need to sign in to your Google Account (so you get credit for what you contribute).
• Models you create with Building Maker "live" in the Google 3D Warehouse (a giant, online repository of 3D models).
• You can use Google SketchUp (the free, general-purpose 3D modeling tool) to edit or otherwise modify anything you make with Building Maker.
• Make sure you have the latest version of Google Earth installed on your computer.
• If using an Apple Mac, you need to download the Google Earth plug-in directly.

Google Building Maker
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwh/buildingmaker.html

source:
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/10/introducing-google-building-maker.html

ArcGIS 9.2 Simplify Polygons

ArcGIS 9.2 Simplify Polygons (Generalization)

"Simplifies a polygon by removing small fluctuations or extraneous bends from its boundary while preserving its essential shape."

Simplify Polygon (Data Management) (ArcInfo only)

The process produces two output feature classes, a polygon feature class and a point feature class. The polygon output will stores the simplified polygons. The point output will store points, if any, representing polygons that are collapsed to zero-area.
This point feature class is used to transfer the attributes of the polygon.


The process is hidden but the polygon is transfered to a line then the simplification/generalization is applied to a line. The new polygon is the result of the simplified lines rebuilt into polygons with the point used as the attribute container between the process.








This method was created in ArcGIS 9.x prior to 9.2 using this exact method.
note the Append tool is used. This is because a Geodatabase template (with pre-defined Subtypes) is used. This method deletes all features then add (appends) all new generalised features back in to the correct subtypes. Therefore maintaining database control if topology rules are to be applied.
Tip: Save out Topology rules (.rul) delete all topology as this prevents editing feature classes that have topology. Load topology rules back into the Geodatabase and validate to complete the process.

Web help
Simplifying and smoothing features

Mapperz uses this frequently

Spatial Join (Analysis) Returns to ArcGIS

Spatial Join returns to ArcGIS 9.2, This function has been missing since ArcView 3.x, which is a much needed function in the GIS field.

This geoprocessing function is found in Analysis Tools>Overlay>Spatial Join

Please note this function is not Spatial Join by attributes as in previous versions of ArcGIS nor the Join on the tables.

This Spatial Join (Analysis) is by the features location.
"Creates a table join in which fields from one layer's attribute table are appended to another layer's attribute table based on the relative locations of the features in the two layers."

There is are three very powerful new functions also available in this example.

• Spatial Join (Analysis) is available in the Model Builder
• Spatial Join (Analysis) works with the new batch mode
• Iterations can be applied to the analysis if required.

This quick example is setting up the Spatial Join selecting the Rivers that fall with different countries and assigning the river with a country name using intersect
.
Data is from the ESRI DVD World Data that was shipped with ArcGIS 9.2


The spatial join using one to many on intersect features



Using the Model Builder to create this process (yes there are new funky shapes in model builder)



Model of Spatial Join but with 3 Iterations using values in the search radius (10, 20, 30 kilometres are examples)

The batch can be created by right clicking the saved model and selecting batch.
More info on batch set ups here