Current uses of topology in 3D GIS: an overview

Abstract

3D GIS has been widely used in various applications that require 3D visualisation and analysis. This has also been made possible by advances in data acquisition, which provide detailed and accurate spatial data as the basis for any task. Topology as a spatial property gives value to 3D GIS by maintaining connectivity, adjacency, and containment information. This study attempted to understand how topology is used in 3D GIS based on a literature review. SCOPUS databases were searched for journal articles, conference proceedings, and book chapters that implemented topology as part of their 3D GIS methodology. Keywords used to search for literature were "topology"and "3D GIS". The articles were selected based on the uses of topology in 3D GIS. The term 'uses' indicates topology being used in the methodology of a 3D GIS study to achieve the objective. Based on the review, we were able to categorise the literature into 3 main uses of topology, which are validation, data reconstruction, and spatial analysis or queries. The results of the literature review were also visualised using a network map of terms that also represents the connectivity and weightage between terms. This overview provided an awareness of future research areas in which topology assisted data validation, data reconstruction, and spatial analysis can be applied and fully utilised to further enhance 3D GIS capabilities.