This module was a tad different than other modules I have completed in this course or others. Mainly, I was to complete training courses offered by ESRI itself rather than in-house lab instructions made by my professors. I found it interesting to work with instructions made directly by the developers of the software I was using. To complete this module, I was to complete four courses relating to visibility analysis.
The first course completed was ESRI's "Introduction to 3D Visualization". In this course, I learned what exactly 3D modeling is useful for in geographical context. Most notably, how it can aid in identifying patterns not visible in 2D mapping. I learned the various extrusion methods, such as the differences between extruding by absolute value, base value, and minimum/maximum values. I worked closely with the Extrusion by Attributes tool in ArcGIS Pro to practice these methods. I also learned how to enhance a scene through illumination techniques. For example, I converted a local scene to a global scene as to set a specific date and time for realistic illumination environments. This introduction offered a firm ground for the following courses to build upon.
The next two courses involved conducting visibility analysis via the two main methods: viewshed & line of sight. I completed the "Performing Line of Sight Analysis" and "Performing Viewshed Analysis in ArcGIS Pro" courses to learn these skills. During the line of sight course, I got comfortable using the Construct Sight Lines tool in ArcGIS Pro to add 3D sight lines casting out from a target over a designated path. I then learned how to use the Line of Sight tool to conduct the visibility analysis. I conducted the analysis for two distances, accounting for human eye perception and surveillance camera limitations. During the viewshed course, I manually adjusted data via the Attribute Table to account for parameters such as elevation offset and azimuth. Using the Viewshed Analysis tool, I conducted a visibility analysis for where 4 lights would cover the area of a campground and where these areas would intersect. I achieved this using the raster produced by the analysis tool and adjusting properties within Raster Functions. I also gained experience changing the observer (light tower) heights above the ground and how this would affect the results. Overall, I am happy to have not only learned how to conduct these two analyses, but also how to tailor them to specific goals.
The last course I completed was ESRI's "Sharing 3D Content Using Scene Layer Packages". In this course, I learned how to convert 2D data to 3D. More importantly, however, I learned how to prepare this 3D data to be properly shared. One of the most useful tips I learned in this course was to set the elevation layer at "absolute height" prior to extrusion to ensure that features will not be affected by the slope of the terrain. Beyond this, I also learned how to use the Add Surface Information tool in conjunction with an elevation raster to add z-values to 2D data. The main focus of the course was learning how to share these 3D features as .slpk's, or scene layer packages, via the Create 3D Object Scene Layer Content tool. I successfully used this tool to convert and publish data made in ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS online for anyone to view or use.
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