3D BUILDING GENERALIZATION FOR DIGITAL MAP APPLICATIONS

A digital map application enables display of a large amount of 3D buildings or 3D structures to provide enhanced display and navigation features. The 3D models (116, 216, 316) are composed from a detailed set of attributes which, when combined, portray a highly detailed visual rendering of a physical object as it exists in real life. By selectively suppressing attributes, and in appropriate cases deriving new attributes from existing data, varying degrees of the 3D model (116, 216) can be represented in lower levels of detail with reduced processing resources and to achieve a more realistic depiction. The generalization of the 3D models can be structured as a function of the distance between the 3D model and an imaginary observer datum or other suitable reference point. In one embodiment, a plurality of contemporaneous rendering zones (34, 36, 38) are established so that a 3D model (116, 216, 316) is displayed with a particular combination or set of attributes depending which rendering zone (34, 36, 38) it is in.