FILLMORE, Calif., Jan. 8 -- Solid Terrain Modeling (SMT), a manufacturer of 3-D solid terrain models, has completed a model of the Battle of Gettysburg for the US Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. The model was purchased for the Geospatial Information Science Program at the USMA. To produce a model, SMT uses digital elevation and imagery data for the selected geographic area. The elevation data controls STM's highly calibrated cutting machine, which carves the model into high-density plastic foam; then a printing machine applies the image data onto the model's surface.
The model for West Point was produced from a combination of 30-meter digital elevation model data, acquired from the US Geological Survey's national elevation data set, and IKONOS 4-meter multispectral imagery from Space Imaging Inc. It will be used in several courses in the Geospatial Information Science Program and in military history and military geography courses at the USMA.
Seventeen STM models are now on display at the National Geographic Society's Explorers Hall museum in Washington.
For more information, visit: www.stm-usa.com