An Extended Vector Product Format (EVPF) suitable for the representation of three-dimensional elevation in terrain databases

Recent studies have shown that the Vector Product Format (VPF) and most VPF-based products no longer meet the needs of the Modelling and Simulation (M&S) community of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The research presented in this paper addresses some of the deficiencies outlined in these requirement surveys. One of the goals of this research is an Extended Vector Product Format (EVPF) and an EVPF-based product Modelling and Simulation Extended Vector Product (MSEVP). EVPF, which remains within the confines of VPFs static georelational data structure, extends VPF to allow for the efficient storage and access of Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)-based three dimensional elevation data. Additionally, EVPF permits the efficient integration of terrain elevation data with ground surface features, and provides an elegant method of rendering terrain in three-dimensions. This paper documents the design of EVPF and highlights its salient features. It also reports on our progress toward the design and implementation of an MSEVP prototype. MSEVP is expected to better serve the needs of the M&S community by addressing some of the deficiencies outlined in recent requirement studies. The paper will address: (a)the generation of TIN based three-dimensional terrain data to populate the elevation coverage, (b) the extraction and conditioning of the transportation network to populate the associated coverage and (c) the integration of the transportation and elevation coverages.