Abstract

3D city models have become an important user interface for various applications, ranging from entertainment to civil engineering. Today, 3D city models can also be accessed on the web without installing any additional software, which has significantly widened their potential audience. However, visually accurate 3D city models are typically large in terms of file size, and hence, require ample network bandwidth for minimizing download delays and providing a smooth user experience. In this paper, we introduce a method called DRUMM, which enables dynamic resource management for viewing 3D city models on the web. DRUMM supports both the use of varying criteria for prioritizing the download order of 3D graphics, and the division of 3D graphics into chunks facilitating parallel downloads that can be suspended and later continued. The performance of DRUMM was evaluated in terms of (1) starting delay; (2) used network bandwidth; and (3) the number of buildings with textures in the view using the developed prototype implementation. Based on the results, DRUMM improves the usability of 3D city applications, particularly when the network bandwidth is scarce.