Terrain Software and Projects - Noncommercial
see also: commercial software and government/academic projects

• 3DEM
  • freeware from Microcomputer Topography
  • viewer and converter for DEM files
  • both non-realtime and realtime rendering, using OpenGL
  • reads DEM, SDTS DEM, NED, GTOPO30/GLOBE, SRTM, MOLA, Mars DTM, ASTER, and raw data
  • drapes DRG, GeoTIFF and TMS (TIGER Map Server) images
  • merges multiple input file, writes elevation to TerraGen, USGS DEM and many bitmap formats
  • writes textured polygonal scenes to VRML, can save flyovers as AVI or MPEG
  • can display GPS receiver waypoints, routes, and tracks
• Alexandria Digital Earth Prototype (ADEPT)
  • the next stage of the Alexandria Digital Library project
  • the NSF has announced funding from 1999-2004 - no details yet?
• BlueMarbleViewer
  • open-source example application for using OSG to render the NASA Blue Marble earth image
  • does paging of the spherical texture down to the full 1km/pixel detail
• CSP - The Combat Simulator Project
  • open-source project (GPL) which includes a terrain engine and flight modelling, with an emphasis on combat
  • started February 2001, with slow but gradual development over the years
  • as of 2005, supports multiple terrain engines including Demeter and ChunkLOD
• DG Terrain Viewer
  • small terrain viewer for Windows (free executable, C++ source code for $118)
  • reads SRTM 1 and 3 arcsec files, USGS DEMs and DATs, Terrain Base ETOPO 5
• Earth3D
  • Earth viewer, for elevation and imagery, streaming from its own online database of mostly MODIS data, written by Dominique Andre Gunia of Braunschweig University of Technology
  • portable open source (GPL), source is C++ and uses QT
  • binaries available for Linux, MacOSX and Windows
  • tried the Windows binary v1.0.1 (on 2004.09) and found:
    • Although the program works fairly well, there was a lack of caching - turning left then right again would cause all the data to have to be streamed down again.  The elevation dataset was also very strange (cruder than SRTM or even GTOPO).
    • Apparently, to view any data besides the built-in dataset, one would need to modify the code.
• Flight Gear Simulator Project
  • free, open-source, multi-platform, cooperative flight sim development project
  • includes a DEM-to-TIN optimization process for creating efficient meshes (single level of detail)
• GRIFINOR
  • Very simple open-source (LGPL) viewer, written in Java by students at Aalborg University, Denmark.
  • It doesn't quite handle terrain (no elevation?) but you can create scenes with building block models on top of an aerial photo (must be JPEG and CRS must be UTM).  There is simple mouse navigation, and some LOD on the building models which pops a lot.
• g3DGVM
  • open-source viewer for USGS DEM and DLG
  • uses Linux with GTK+, curiously does not use OpenGL
• hftools
  • a set of Unix utilities for creation and manipulation of landscape data
  • can convert many different formats to PGM
• Integrated Data Viewer (IDV)
  • a framework for visualizing and analyzing geoscience data, from Unidata
  • free (LGPL), runs on any platform with functional Java3D (Windows, Linux, and Solaris/SPARC)
  • 2D and 3D viewing of datasets such as numerical weather prediction model output, weather satellite imagery, radar imagery, etc.
• Kashmir3D
  • freeware Japanese non-realtime terrain renderer
  • reads USGS 1-degree-DEM, GTOPO30, Japan Geographical Survey DEM, SwissTopo RIMINI Digital Height Model, CHsystem Height Model (PMB)
  • claims either Z-buffer or full raytracing, although i wasn't able to figure out how to turn on raytracing
  • has some integration with GPS devices
• kdem
  • Linux-only realtime DEM viewer, can read SDTS DEMs
  • requires KDE, Mesa, Qt, and other Linux libraries
• LandSerf
  • viewing and analysis of elevation and vector data, both 2D and 3D via OpenGL
  • written using Java 1.4 (runs on Windows, Linux and MacOSX)
  • claims TIN generation and interpolation, fractal surface generation, and feature extraction (slope, aspect, curvature)
  • supported file formats: BT, DEM, EDX, GHS, GRASS formats, Mastermap (GB Ordnance Survey) vector text files, NTF, SVG, SRTM, TerraGen, ArcInfo formats including Ascii/Binary grids, several image formats (but not GeoTIFF), output to VRML heightfields
• Mapper
  • freeware for Win95/NT4
  • reads DEM (GTOPO30 only, not standard USGS DEMs), and NDV (NDVI band from the 10-day composite at the USGS)
• MicroDEM / TerrainBaseII (freeware)
  • features include tracing contours, calculating slope, converting datums, and much more
  • reads DEM, DTED, SDTS 1:24K DEMs, NGDC GRD98, NOS EEZ Bathymetry, USGS ASCII CDO, GTOPO30, ETOPO5, and OS 5 or 20 km tiles
  • can merge multiple files, but the interface is awkward
• Norkart Virtual Globe
  • the Norkart Virtual Globe is a client-server application for displaying very large (=global scale) terrain models
  • the client uses Java and Java3D, so it works on Windows, Linux and Solaris
  • current dataset uses elevation data from the NOAA GLOBE Project (1 km)
  • in my experience, using a fast Windows machine and DSL connection, interaction speed was reasonable but texture paging was unusably slow
• OpenEV
  • 2D/3D OpenGL-based raster/vector viewer
  • supports a very large number of elevation, vector and image formats
  • open source and completely portable: Win32, Linux, Irix, Solaris
• OpenSkies
  • claims: "The software provides an accurate virtual representation of the real world including terrain and landmarks extracted from real geological and cartographic databases. Cultural features and details such as urban areas, forests, and roads are represented graphically in 3D. Using OpenSkies environment tools, you can also create your own custom worlds to suit your specific needs."
  • installed and evaluated 00.08.27 (and again on 01.04.29)
    • had great difficulty attempting to use it, documentation was minimal and incorrect
    • supposedly open-source, but the distribution didn't include any source code
    • the demo had lots of bad "flashing" artifacts, and featureless, extremely low-res "terrain"
    • sent extensive feedback to them, but got no response
• ossimPlanet
  • an open-source geospatial viewer built on top of OpenSceneGraph, libwms and OSSIM
  • supports a wide variety of raster, vector, and elevation formats
  • as of mid-2005, the project is in its beginning phases, requiring a very experienced developer in order to build and run it
• planet-earth.org
  • an open-source Java/VRML project, aiming for the original "digital earth" ideals of a freely available, fully 3D world
  • 3map is the "interactive map" component, Sourceforge: Planet Earth Project
  • 3map:rez is the multiresolution terrain management tool which takes inputs (DTED, GTOPO, BIL, ARC ASCII, DEM, VRML ElevationGrid nodes) and writes a multiresolution LOD tree of VRML tiles, or outputs other formats such as an image map
  • they also have a few normal VRML scenes of specific locations, including Sydney
• Silent Wings
  • a very impressive "hobby project" by Norwegian research scientist Thomas E. Sevaldrud
  • runs on Linux and Win32, built on Mesa/Glut/PLIB
  • uses hierarchical LOD for the terrain and ground/air physics simulation
  • dynamic fractal-based 2D cloud layers, beautiful aerial orthophotos of Norway
  • still not publicly available as of October 2004
• Terraform
  • an open source (GPL) interactive height field generation and manipulation program
  • can read and write many formats and can create artificial terrain
  • currently runs only on Unix (GTK)
  • interfaces to POV-Ray to allow pretty raytraced terrain rendering
• TerraVision
  • there are/were actually 2 different projects by this name.
  • "TerraVision Germany and TerraVision SRI started same exact moment in time.  they met each other one day and TerraVision Germany decided to change names, in states only, to t-vision.   They were both funded similar levels, couple million, and similar details etc. although each claims to be better."
  • SRI TerraVision
    • a distributed, interactive terrain visualization system that can deal with huge datasets
    • free download, main package only runs on Irix, but a plug-in viewer works on Windows in Netscape / IE
    • unfortunately, dataset creation involves primitive command-line utilities
    • as of November 2002, it became fully Open Source, but is otherwise dormant
  • ART+COM TerraVision / T_Vision
    • "a virtual representation of the whole earth as a general interface to organize, to access and to visualize any kind of information."
    • implemented on high-end SGI machines
    • dormant as of around 2000
• TNTsim3D
  • the TNT product line from MicroImages Inc. contains a free 3D viewer TNTsim3D, which only views data files (.sim) created with their commercial CAD/GIS products
  • the produce line is cross-platform, but the free viewer is Windows-only
• VTP
  • the Virtual Terrain Project, whose website you are on, includes a free set of tools and runtime for importing a large range of data and creating interactive flyovers of any part of the world - see the software implementation branch of this website
• Wilbur
  • freeware terrain converter and height field generator, for Win32
  • reads Bryce, 1-degree DEM, GTOPO30, and various raw and image formats
  • writes Bryce and several 3D modeler / image formats
• Wissenbach Map3D
  • open-source (GPL) GPS mapping and terrain visualization software for Windows
  • emphasis is on communication with GPS devices and handling of GPX files
  • can pull US topo and DOQ images automatically from Terraserver, and SRTM automatically from NASA
  • 3D rendering is relatively simple and limited