Benefits of 3D topos for information sharing and planning in rock climbing

Abstract

In outdoor rock climbing, routes are commonly marked in topos, which are typically implemented as annotated photographs or hand-drawn pictures. 3D technologies, such as structure from motion (SfM), enable the creation of detailed 3D models. These technologies are now within the reach of almost everybody, and they are becoming increasingly simple to utilize. We present an interactive 3D topo of a large boulder and discuss the creation process using SfM and 3D modelling software. Furthermore, we conducted an online user study with 52 respondents investigating how 3D topos can be utilized for information sharing and planning, and how 3D topos might change rock climbing. Results show that 3D topos are seen highly useful compared to normal web topos.

Keywords::

• rock climbing
• bouldering
• photogrammetry
• SfM
• 3D topo
• 3D model

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Jaakko Lehtinen for the help in photographing the boulder and Markku Laine for valuable comments.