3D Tiles is an OGC standard for streaming large geospatial 3D datasets into a browser. Its spatial hierarchy lets a viewer load low-detail tiles for a distant city and progressively load higher-resolution content as the view moves closer, rather than loading the entire scene at once. section 7.1.3
Each tile represents a spatial volume containing geometry at a particular level of detail. A tileset can carry photogrammetry, BIM/CAD models, or point clouds, while retaining queryable metadata for individual features. For an open-source web stack, 3D Tiles commonly pairs with CesiumJS or Deck.gl; I3S pursues a similar streaming goal but fits Esri-based workflows. section 7.1.3 section 7.2.2
Place a house model on a globe
Convert a house model from OBJ to 3D Tiles with Cesium ion or Obj2Tiles, then load it in CesiumJS. Supply its WGS84 latitude and longitude and an offset from true north. Cesium converts the geographic position to Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed coordinates; a 4 × 4 transformation matrix places and rotates the model in three dimensions. A small house gains little performance benefit from tiling, but the format simplifies integration with the viewer. section 7.2.2
const [googleTileset, customTileset] = await Promise.all([
Cesium.createGooglePhotorealistic3DTileset(),
Cesium.Cesium3DTileset.fromUrl("https://3d.dtia.site/tiles/tileset.json")
]);
The two calls load a photorealistic tileset and a custom tileset concurrently, illustrating how a placed model can be viewed alongside a larger 3D environment. section 7.2.2
