Integrating geometric models, site images and GIS based on Google Earth and Keyhole Markup Language

Technologies for information management and visualization are instrumental in enhancing human perceptions and interpretations of complicated project information. 3D/4D modeling, Virtual Reality (VR), Building Information Models (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been increasingly used for data management and analytics in construction. Apart from virtual models, it is essential to represent the ever-changing site reality by integrating images captured with drones, mobile devices, and digital cameras. To improve the cognitive perception of the site environment from fragmented datasets, this paper proposes a framework to integrate unordered images, geometric models and surrounding environment in Google Earth using Keyhole Markup Language (KML). A ground-control-free methodology to geo-reference sequential aerial imageries and ground imageries is proposed in order to place unordered images into the physical coordinate system of Google Earth. To combine geometric models, site images and panoramic images with the site surrounding environment in 3D GIS, a KML and cloud storage based data management system is conceptualized to handle large scale datasets. The research provides construction engineers with a low-cost and low-technology-barrier solution to represent a dynamic construction site through information management, integration and visualization.