🆕Overview

This overview introduces OS 3D Mesh and gives context for all users – highlighting key features, providing examples of uses, and listing details such as product accuracy, supply formats, etc.

OS 3D Mesh beta data is created from aerial imagery originally captured as part of our national imagery capture program on a three-year cycle across the whole of Great Britain.

Product applications

OS 3D Mesh can be used within a Geographic Information System (GIS) or 3D modelling software to provide a 3D view of the Earth and features present on the surface. The product has been developed to enable the visualisation of an area and for detailed analysis of complex scenes in disciplines such as:

• Urban planning

• Citizen engagement

• Telecommunications planning (for example, line-of-sight modelling)

• Security (for example, viewshed analysis for threat detection at international events)

• Asset monitoring and planning (for example, wind farm and electricity pylon location planning)

• Flood risk assessment

Accuracy

OS 3D Mesh beta data is derived from imagery captured to update the National Geographic Database. Source imagery is captured at a ground sample distance (pixel size on the ground) of 15cm x 15cm.

INSPIRE compliance

The European INSPIRE data specification includes elevation datasets such as gridded digital terrain models and Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINS) but does not include 3D meshes. The OS 3D Mesh can therefore not be provided as an INSPIRE compliant dataset, unless and until INSPIRE brings 3D meshes into its remit.

Product supply details

OS 3D Mesh is available as OGC 3D Tiles. This format (often referred to as Cesium 3D Tiles) is an international standard widely used in both the gaming and geospatial data industries. The product will be created to order and supplied as a download. For large areas, the product will be broken down into smaller units for ease of use.