UltraMap Studio Part #8: 3D Production
11 June 2025
Last updated on 11 Jun 2025
3D city models – more precisely, textured 3D meshes – are increasingly vital across a wide range of industries. From GIS and emergency response to property management, gaming, and augmented reality, these models provide valuable insights for planning, analysis, and simulation. Urban planners and decision-makers rely on them for tasks such as change detection, environmental assessments, wind and dispersion modeling, energy efficiency studies, and architectural planning.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how to create, visualize, and export textured 3D meshes and colorized point clouds using UltraMap Studio – transforming aerial imagery into intelligent 3D data.
Bring the world into 3D with UltraMap.
Getting started with 3D production in UltraMap has never been easier. If you’ve already completed the Aerial Triangulation (AT) and radiometric processing for your project, you’re nearly ready for 3D – because UltraMap 3D uses the same base layer as for ortho generation. This means no redundant effort and a streamlined workflow.
Learn more about ortho generation in UltraMap here: UltraMap Studio Part #6: Heightfield editing
Flexible tile selection for targeted 3D generation
Just like in ortho production, 3D tiles can be defined and reprocessed using UltraMap’s familiar step-by-step workflow. This lets you precisely control the scope and scale of your 3D projects – ideal when full-model generation isn’t necessary.
Thanks to reprocessing support, you can start small and incrementally build or refine your model as needed.
Use cases include:
- Customer previews – Quickly generate small areas for early-stage review or demonstrations.
- Landmark focus – Isolate and process key points of interest in large datasets.
- Error correction – Reprocess only affected tiles without re-running the entire job.
- Curiosity-driven exploration – Dive into UltraCam data just to see what’s possible.
This targeted approach saves time, reduces storage needs, and optimizes resources—while delivering the trusted quality of UltraMap.
Base Layer with selected tiles showing prominent buildings
Robust and resilient 3D processing
3D processing is resource-intensive, especially at scale. UltraMap is built to handle complex workflows efficiently, with resilience at every level. It offers robust error management that prevents job failures on the task level, job level, and even during reprocessing of problematic areas. The integrated Job Monitor provides real-time status updates and detailed task insights—keeping you in control throughout the process.
3D processing tasks can be tracked in UltraMap Job Monitor
QC and editing: Precision where it matters
UltraMap provides two dedicated viewers for reviewing processed 3D data:
- Ortho Viewer: Ideal for quick navigation and high-level QC, this view uses a nadir rendering to offer a familiar experience similar to DSM and DSMOrtho products.
- 3D Viewer: For detailed inspections, this full 3D view allows precise analysis of both mesh geometry and textures.
Orthographic view for accurate measurements and analysis
3D viewer perspectives showcasing texture, depth, and structural accuracy
When edits are needed, you can export affected tiles, make changes in your preferred 3D editor software solution, and re-import the corrected mesh into UltraMap for texturing.
UltraMap keeps track of edited areas and indicates where reprocessing is required to ensure consistency.
UltraMap keeps track of edited areas and indicates where reprocessing is required to ensure consistency.
Step-by-step mesh repair of a building – before, during, and after editing
Versatile export options for diverse applications
UltraMap makes exporting 3D data flexible and efficient. Use drawn or imported polygons to trim your 3D mesh to exactly the area you need, and choose from a variety of output options:
- Multiple formats: Export as textured/untextured meshes, point clouds—or all formats simultaneously.
- NIR-RGB point clouds: Include infrared data alongside RGB for nadir-captured points.
- Pyramid levels: For all data formats, pyramid levels can be exported.
- Cesium 3D Tiles: Export entire scenes for easy integration to web platforms and geospatial viewers, with native support for this widely used format.
Use a polygon to define the region to export in UltraMap 3D.
3D production in UltraMap is the natural evolution of Vexcel’s photogrammetric workflow. Whether you're mapping small sites or modeling entire cities, UltraMap gives you the tools, flexibility, and accuracy to turn UltraCam imagery into powerful 3D assets.
Want to learn how to best organize your production workflow in UltraMap Studio?
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