Glob3 mobile: An open source framework for designing virtual globes on iOS and android mobile devices

Abstract

The widely development of mobile devices is contributing to a high demand in 3D graphics, as they have also become a very important requirement of modern applications. Virtual Globes integrating environmental data at any time or place, remain a challenge within the technical constraints imposed by mobile devices. We present Glob3 Mobile, an open source framework for the development of virtual globes on familiar iOS and Android mobile devices. The paper discusses the design and development choices for each platform. The aim of this work is twofold. First, to provide an efficient Virtual Globe application, testable and freely accessible from the web and providing a truly 3D navigation experience with smooth flying. Second, to provide the main software components to easily design and implement 3D Virtual Globes based applications, on both iOS and Android platforms. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.