A comparative survey of 3D GIS models

We have witnessed the exponential growth of 3D GIS applications which vary from 3D urban management, a heritage city, archaeology, flood controlling, planning and designing, and government planning, to name a few. Thanks to the diversity of 3D models that are used to represent objects in reality and spatial database systems that are utilized to store spatial data, designers and developers can explore and exploit their ability and imagine ultimately to create fantastic applications. Nevertheless, due to this diversity and variousness, it is not easy to decide which 3D model suits to which application. In order to overcome this challenge, this paper introduces a brief comparative survey on 3D GIS data models as a look-up material. Most of the popular 3D GIS models are roll-called and compared on different criteria depending on their spatial properties.