Tutorial:

Drawing 3D Buildings From a 2D Image

Summary
• Overview
• Task content
• Workflow
• Task area
• Basic rules
• Drawing requirements
• Buildings with consistent height
• Buildings with inconsistent height (multi-layer
rooftop)
Overview
• Task content
• Based on satellite imagery, find all buildings, draw the
building rooftop to finally get building footprints.
Overview
• Workflow

Submit task Acquire task

Labeler Online drawing Checker
system
Acquire task Submit task

Labeler’s task: draw images following project requirements; then revise results
based on checkers feedback.
Checker’s task: check labeler’s drawing result, and also add revision comments

The loop will be complete when the task is approved by the Checker.
Overview
• Task area (“assistant grid”)
• Buildings entirely located 1 2 3
in your own task area
must be drawn;
No
• Buildings partially located
(one pixel or more) in
your task area and any 4 Task area
other region besides
1,2,3,4, must also be
drawn.
• Any buildings partially
located in areas 1, 2, 3, or
4 are not to be drawn;
Overview
• Basic rules
1. Buildings construction is based on some basic rules. The geometric shape of
building rooftops is a polygon. Usually the opposite lines are parallel;
adjacent lines are perpendicular. Pay attention when drawing corners –
draw right angle when the corner is right angle.
2. Drawings of building rooftops must be accurate within 3 pixels
Drawing requirements
• Building types:
1. Buildings with consistent height (rooftop is all one constant height)
2. Buildings with inconsistent height (multi-layer rooftop)

Consistent height Inconsistent height

Drawing requirements
• Buildings with consistent height
• If only rooftop visible:
• Step: Draw the rooftop contour in terms of the basic rules of
building construction (ie. perpendicular corners, parallel
sides, etc.)
• If building side-wall is also visible:
• Step:
1. Draw rooftop contour in terms of the basic rules
2. Shift the rooftop contour to the base of the building to
capture the 3D structure: along the visible side-wall
direction, drag rooftop polygon to the bottom (only
necessary if the width of the visible side-wall is greater
than 5 pixels)
Now we get the correct building footprint location.
Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Buildings with consistent height
• Only rooftop visible: draw rooftop contour in
terms of the basic rules
• Case 1 & 2

Simple shape Residential house with

complicated shape
• Buildings with consistent height
• Only rooftop visible
• Case 3

Industrial building with

complicated shape
 Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Buildings with consistent height • Case 1
• If building side-wall is also visible:
• Steps:
1. Draw the rooftop in terms
of the basic rules
2. Shift the rooftop to the
bottom of the building:
along visible side-wall
direction, drag rooftop
outline to the bottom (see
yellow auxiliary lines
created)
Now we get the correct building
Simple shape
footprint location.
 Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Buildings with consistent height
• If the building side-wall is also visible
• Case 2

Complicated shape
Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Building with inconsistent height
• If the building has a multi-level rooftop (different levels of
rooftop separated by >3 pixels)
• Steps:
1. Draw the top-level rooftop, then along the visible side-wall
direction drag the rooftop polygon to the second highest
rooftop level;
2. Draw the second level rooftop in a new polygon, then
along the visible side-wall direction drag the second level
rooftop polygon to the third highest rooftop level;
3. Based on this “top to bottom” sequence, the rest rooftops
can be drawn in the same manner.
Now we get the correct building footprint location.
Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Building with inconsistent height
• If the building has a multi-level rooftop (different levels of rooftop
separated by >3 pixels)
• Case 1

Multi-level rooftop
Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Building with inconsistent height
• If the building has a multi-level rooftop (different levels of rooftop
separated by >3 pixels)
• Case 2

Complicated multi-level
rooftop
Drawing requirements (cont’d)
• Building with inconsistent height
• If the building has a multi-level rooftop (different levels of rooftop
separated by >3 pixels)
• Case 3

Multi-level rooftop
with cavity
The end