Module 3: Visibility Analysis

    For this week's lab, I took several ESRI courses focused on visibility analysis. The first course that I took was the Introduction to 3D Data. Though not required for the lab, it provided some valuable information about dealing with 3D data. I learned several shortcuts for navigating 3D scenes. I also worked with TIN and raw LiDAR data for the first time. Lastly, I was able to explore multipatch and extruded polygons.

    In the next course, Introduction to 3D Visualization, I learned how to make 3D scenes more realistic. Specifically, I learned about adding trees and shadows to scenes. I also learned how to change the lighting of the scene. All of these details help improve the quality of the scene significantly. 

    In the Performing Line of Sight Analysis course, I learned about applications for line of sight analysis and worked through a real world example. In the real world example, I looked at the visibility of a parade route from two observer locations and investigated if these locations would provide sufficient coverage of the parade route. I also got access to a workflow for performing the analysis which will be really helpful if I ever run the analysis again in the future. In addition to the line of sight course, I also completed the Performing a Viewshed Analysis in ArcGIS Pro. Again, I worked through a real world example exploring different light locations and heights at a campground and observing the effects on the light coverage of  the campground.  

    Lastly, I completed the Sharing 3D Content Using Scene Layer Packages course. In this course, I generated 3D layers and then learned how to export them as a scene layer package. Sharing ArcGIS Pro outputs is important for any spatial analyst. having not worked with many 3D layers beyond a DEM, it was useful to learn more about exporting those layers and sharing them to the ArcGIS community.

    All in all, these courses were very informative for me since I have limited experience working in 3D scenes and using 3D layers. I look forward to integrating some of these methods to projects as they are applicable.