Database architecture to support VRML streaming in geographic information system

In this paper, a client-server database architecture that supports VRML streaming in 3D Geographic information systems is discussed. A hybrid data structure R4-tree that combines R-trees with quad-tree division is proposed to organize the large geographic data efficiently. Based on this hybrid data structure, the VRML streaming is implemented by integrating Java and the Script node in VRML to progressively add values to the fields of the individual node on a VRML scene. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the validity of proposed approaches.