Panoramic videography as a potential tool for enhancement of land intensity factors

Abstract

Summary The article explores the potential of using panoramic videography for the spatial engineering and spatial management of landscape. The concept of panoramic photography, as a basis for panoramic videography, has been widely used for visualisation of cultural heritage sites and documentation of various sites. Panoramas are widely used, for example, by Google in StreetView to present not only the cityscapes, but recently also rural landscapes. Panoramic videography is a process of creating panoramic (360-degree) video, which represents the dynamic environment. The land intensity factors (WIT – in Polish: “wspolczynniki intensywności terenu”) introduced by Litwin is a method for evaluation of the landscape where different functions can be specified: agricultural, non-agricultural and recreational. Although this method can be used in different terrains, this article proposes to use panoramic video camera for the enhancement of the recreation function of WIT. The process of creating panoramic videography is explained in this article as it was tested and explored in the United Kingdom (in Launceston) and Poland (the district of Czarny Dunajec). It is based on gathering imagery not from airplanes but from a mobile setup that traverses through streets. What is more, the combination of vector and raster modelling of terrain in a visual and interactive environment has a potential to become a powerful tool for enhancement of land intensity factors. The administrative borders are one of the drawbacks for a determination of WIT and comparing them to terrain values. This article proposes the application of a path-based approach to visualize changes in land value and recreation function thanks to data collected from panoramic videography and information input to database. Annotations and measurements (panoramic photogrammetry) gathered from geo-referenced video provides a potential not only for determining WIT factors, but also for regional planning.