Hello, This Is London Rising: 3D Printing Maps from LIDAR Data (opens in new tab)

That's really cool. Wish it was printed in colour :)

If LIDAR data isn't available, you can do pretty detailed 3D mapping with a regular camera and UAV, using photogrammetry/structure from motion. A Phantom or almost anything that flies with a reasonable camera will do. Of course the better camera you use, the better the results. Flight restrictions over populated areas apply, check your local legislation :)

commercial solutions: https://pix4d.com/, http://www.agisoft.com/, http://www.dronedeploy.com

open source: https://github.com/OpenDroneMap/OpenDroneMap

It's good to see LIDAR in the news! I work at Advanced Scientific Concepts (FPGA engineer), our flash LIDAR is 128x128, works out to several kilometers, and will be on the OSIRIS-Rex project to scoop some stuff up from an asteroid and return it to Earth - it's pretty wild.

We are developing a system for topology mapping like this specifically.

Check the mission out: http://www.asteroidmission.org/ and the company! http://www.advancedscientificconcepts.com/

If anybody is interested, send me a message.

Really cool. From the description it sounds like you just made one for yourself. I would suggest you try selling these for $500 - $2000 each. You put a lot of work into it and I think that as art these would be command some money in the market.

Printing it in a stereo lithography machine (think FormLABS) would get you the details you wanted. That said, from the photo it looks very nice on the wall.

NYC performed a LIDAR scan of NYC in conjunction with CUNY a few years ago so that they could build a 'solar map' to help estimate how much solar capacity could be installed on a building. Anyone know where to grab the LIDAR scan data from?

Really great write up, with lots of clear details of every aspect.

I always lament that STL was the format 3D printing software ended up with (essentially a bag of triangles, usually in text format). Far better if slicers could take a true mesh, and not have to guess if coincident points on separate triangles actually amount to the same vertex, except of course for places where it doesn't!

You can collect LIDAR data for your own favorite part of city by using this $250 device and a cheap drone like 3DR Solo:

http://www.lightware.co.za/shop/en/drone-altimeters/51-sf11c...

The main issue you will face is permission to fly drone at 100m or so. In US there are way too many laws to do this.

It looks like aircraft was flying at 200m for above data. London's tallest structure are at 300m+ so this is not doable in all areas.

Also note that software like pix4d and AutoDesk 360 can construct 3D models purely from drone images or videos. I'm not sure how much better LIDAR models are compared to models from structure from motion.

That is a really nice project. Having lived in London, and having a 3D printer I am very tempted.

Nice.

An interesting map is an exaggerated-relief map of Europe as far east as Moscow, with marks for all known battles. Over the centuries, they were mostly in the same places. It gives you a sense of how geography affects politics.

How about printing a landscape from a map/contour lines? Do you think it is possible for example from OSM data? (That London looks totally cool.)

Any idea how high airplane was flying and what LIDAR device it was using?

I followed few links and ended up here but not sure if this is the one they used to collect data: http://geosurveysolutions.com/rapid-surveyor

Very interesting project and glad to see the documentation and results! Had me thinking this might be a fun long-term art project, where a city like this could be given color details by hand using various inks and/or paints. Just a thought inspired by the clever undertaking seen here.

Really awesome project @andrewgodwin! I'd love to do something like this for Pittsburgh as well!

That is very cool! Have you thought about tiling along road /river edges to hide the seams?

One thing the author doesn't mention on 3D printing issues, is extruder retraction settings (essentially pulling back the filament from the hot end slightly before the head moves to a new path, thus limiting strings of fine filament between them)

Cool.

There was some discussion of the LIDAR data-set when it was released: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10379279

Awesome, is there any data like this for SF / bay area?

Does anyone know where to get Lidar or other 3D Data from Germany? (Especially Frankfurt?)

One of the best uses I've seen for a 3d printer so far!

Hey, I can see my (old) house from here!