3D Geographic Grid Overview

SuperMap iServer provides spatial analysis services based on 3D geographic grids. Based on the GeoSOT grid encoding standard, it partitions multi-source 3D spatial data into uniformly encoded 3D grid cells, providing spatial data support for scenarios such as the low-altitude economy and fine-grained urban management.

Function Concept

Geographic grid encoding is a new type of spatial reference and encoding system. It partitions the global space into multi-level, recursive 3D grids, with each grid having a unique code that serves as the minimum identifiable, computable, and measurable unit in the airspace, facilitating positioning, management, and computation.

GeoSOT is one of the widely used 3D grid encoding standards. The core value of the 3D geographic grid is reflected in the following aspects:

Unified spatial reference: Grid codes are unique, enabling spatial data from different sources to be associated and interoperated on a unified grid reference.
Fine-grained management: Multi-scale grids ranging from kilometer-level to centimeter-level can meet the needs of different granularities, from airspace block management to precise UAV delivery.
Dynamic association and fusion: Each grid cell can be attached with temporal, attribute, and semantic information, such as airspace type, weather conditions, and capacity data, enabling dynamic fusion management of information.
Grid-based spatial computing: Based on the adjacency relationships of grid codes, complex spatial computations such as path planning and conflict detection can be converted into code operations, significantly improving computational efficiency.

Application Scenarios

Based on the characteristics of 3D geographic grids, it supports the construction of visualizable, computable, and measurable digital airspace, playing an important role in various application scenarios of the low-altitude economy.

Capability	Description	Typical Scenario
Visualization	Enables fine-grained representation of airspace zoning, no-fly zones, flight-permitted zones, etc., supporting intuitive display of airspace ranges.	Airspace zoning, no-fly zone management
Computability	Implements core functions such as route planning, conflict detection, and safety early warning, supporting flight safety management and control.	Route planning, real-time conflict detection, safety early warning
Measurability	Associates flight data and environmental data to assess airspace capacity and utilization, supporting scheduling optimization.	Airspace capacity assessment, flight scheduling optimization

The application scenarios of the low-altitude economy are expanding from traditional fields to diversified and large-scale directions. 3D geographic grid technology plays an important role in the following scenarios:

Low-altitude logistics: UAV delivery can be used to address last-mile delivery needs.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM): "Air taxis" represented by electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft build a three-dimensional travel network to alleviate urban congestion.
Industrial inspection: Widely applied in power, petroleum, photovoltaic, and other fields, replacing high-risk manual operations and improving inspection efficiency.
Emergency rescue: Provides key support such as rapid on-site survey, emergency material delivery, and communication signal relay.
Urban governance: Plays an important role in scenarios such as law enforcement, environmental monitoring, and municipal supervision, improving the fine-grained management of cities.
Low-altitude tourism: Supports the development of applications for flight experiences, aerial sightseeing, and other scenarios.

Core Capabilities

Based on 3D geographic grid technology, SuperMap iServer provides capabilities ranging from data construction, analysis and computation, to visual presentation, centered on the core business scenarios of low-altitude flight.

1. Baseplate Data Grid Construction

Based on GeoSOT grid encoding and multi-level partitioning, 3D grids can be quickly generated from baseplate data such as 3D city models and terrain, while building grid indexes to support grid queries, intersection analysis, and more.

The following data types can be used to construct 3D grids:

3D city models (white models, refined models, BIM, oblique photography)
Terrain data

In a domestic IT innovation environment, for urban low-altitude areas covering thousands of square kilometers with an altitude of up to 600 meters, constructing billion-level 7-meter-accuracy grids can complete the entire process from construction to indexing within hours.

2. Airspace Element Grid Construction

Grids are generated for airspace elements (3D point, line, and polygon data such as vector routes, no-fly zones, restricted flight zones, and obstacles), converting airspace elements into grid data, providing a unified spatial data foundation for low-altitude applications such as low-altitude logistics, urban security, and aerial sightseeing.

Supported airspace element types include:

Vector routes
No-fly zones, restricted flight zones
Obstacles (buildings, towers, etc.)
Custom airspace ranges

3. Route Planning

Based on the 3D geographic grid, collision-free optimal flight paths can be planned according to start points, end points, obstacle data, etc. It supports multi-UAV cooperative path planning (i.e., routes planned by preceding UAVs automatically serve as obstacles for subsequent UAV route planning), supports multi-source, multi-dimensional dynamic obstacle configuration, and supports advanced features such as safety buffer distance and custom cost areas to adapt to complex UAV path planning scenarios.

Main parameter descriptions:

Parameter	Description
Start point, End point	The takeoff point and target point coordinates of the UAV.
Obstacle data	Obstacle grid data involved in route planning.
Grid level	The grid accuracy level used for route planning.
Grid traversal cost	The traversal cost of different grids, used to calculate the optimal path.
Safety buffer distance	The minimum safety distance between the aircraft and obstacles.

4. Grid Analysis

Based on the grid computing capability of the spatial database engine, the following grid analysis functions are provided around the core business scenarios of low-altitude flight:

Intelligent route planning: Comprehensively considering multiple constraints such as buildings, no-fly zones, other routes, and weather, it automatically plans collision-free, cost-optimal flight paths in the 3D grid space, and supports multi-UAV cooperative planning.
Real-time conflict detection: Introduces the time dimension, supporting grid-level fast intersection queries between routes and obstacles, and between routes, which can be used for pre-flight route review.
Cross-level penetrating query: Supports intersection analysis between grids of different scales.
Grid buffer analysis: Quickly generates buffer warning grids around the aircraft, supporting real-time management and control needs such as safety early warning and intrusion alert.

Large-scale grid computation is completed on the database side (Yukon) and supports distributed deployment to meet the needs of large-scale grid analysis and computation.