Application of Web 3D GIS to Display Urban Model and Solar Energy Analysis using the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Data (Case Study: National Cheng Kung University Buildings)

Nowadays, the era encompasses everything smart, whether they are smartphones, smart people, or smart cities. The term 'Smart Cities' refers to an advanced urban town that has well-connected infrastructure and communication through data centers and automated networks, unless for the energy system. Solar energy is one kind of renewable energy. It is a clean, sustainable, and free energy source both for the public and governments. With the rapidly growing technology, the yield of solar energy increases, while its cost reduces. Thus, it gains importance and becomes widespread. Presently, the increasing importance of solar power makes a hot topic. We are currently facing a global warming issue where one of the leading causes is the use of fossil energies. Non-fossil energy, or better known as renewable energy, is an option to reduce the use of fossil energy as an effort to minimize the impacts of global warming. In this study, we collected the data from The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that is combined with GPS and IMU technology to get the 3D campus model in National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan. The output of the data is true ortho-image, digital surface model (DSM), and building footprint. The building footprint was processed using the Autodesk Insight 360 and Autodesk Revit to get better 3d campus model. All three data were processed using ArcGIS Pro using Calculate Solar Radiation plugin. The result of this step is reaching the solar energy potential of NCKU. The final step is to show it into the Web 3D GIS to display the result. From the Web 3D GIS, everyone can access the information of NCKU solar energy potential using computer and also smartphones.