3D Geospatial Rendering With Equal-Area Polar Quad Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current global rendering of Earth data using geographic projections distorts polar regions, wasting memory and reducing accuracy, as they are stretched longitudinally, leading to unbalanced data representation.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid projection system that combines geographic and polar projections, using latitude and longitude lines, with a geographical coordinate system that maintains equal area quads, allowing for accurate representation of polar regions and efficient memory usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If geographic projection with straight latitude and longitude references is used, then the rendering process is simple, but polar regions are stretched longitudinally causing distortion and wasting memory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the globe into six equal-area faces (one for each pole and four for the equatorial regions), with each face further subdivided into quads. This segmentation allows polar regions to be represented with appropriate scale while maintaining rendering efficiency through structured data organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different projection characteristics to different regions: polar faces use a projection that maintains equal area representation, while equatorial faces use traditional latitude-longitude referencing. This local quality approach ensures each region is rendered with appropriate accuracy for its specific geographical characteristics.
2Ease of manufacture
If geographic projection is used, then memory allocation is straightforward, but polar regions occupy excessive memory space due to stretching
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the globe into six equal-area faces with systematic quad subdivision, the patent creates a memory-efficient structure where each face contains only the data necessary for its region. This prevents the exponential memory waste that occurs with traditional projections that must allocate space for stretched polar regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D latitude-longitude coordinates to a 3D face-based coordinate system with level, row, and column values. This dimensional change enables more efficient memory packing by eliminating the need to represent empty or highly distorted regions.
3Device complexity
If traditional geographic projection is used, then data structure is simple, but polar regions appear much bigger than they actually are causing unbalanced representation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the globe into six faces with systematic quad subdivision, creating a data structure that naturally represents polar regions at their true relative sizes. Each face maintains equal area, preventing the information loss and distortion inherent in traditional projections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite coordinate system that combines elements of traditional latitude-longitude referencing with a face-based grid system. This composite approach maintains the simplicity of structured data access while eliminating the geographical distortion that causes information loss.
4Manufacturing precision
If polar regions are represented with high accuracy, then visualization quality improves, but memory resources are consumed inefficiently
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting polar regions into discrete faces with controlled quad subdivision, the patent achieves high representation accuracy only where needed while limiting memory consumption through systematic resolution control across all faces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies high-resolution representation specifically to polar faces where accuracy is critical, while using appropriate resolution levels for equatorial faces. This local quality approach optimizes the balance between visualization quality and memory resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, the system renders geospatial content on a digital rendering of a planet. In some embodiments, the geospatial content includes a geographical coordinate system comprising latitude lines and longitude lines in an equatorial region of a planet. In some embodiments, the geospatial content includes an array of quads at a polar region of a planet. In some embodiments, the system executes a subdivision of the digital rendering into areas. In some embodiments, a first and second area include first and second pole of the planet. In some embodiments, a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth area are rendered between the first area and the second area. In some embodiments, the geospatial content includes a geographical projection comprising an array of quads in one or more of the areas. In some embodiments, face coordinates values identify any one of the array of quads.