NTT DATA and the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC) have announced that their global digital 3D map service, AW3DTM, became the world's first five-meter-resolution 3D map covering all global land spaces, including Antarctica.

AW3DTM, the world's most precise global 3D map service, uses a digital elevation model (DEM) with five-meter resolution based on some three million satellite images taken by the DAICHI Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

NTT DATA and RESTEC launched a digital 3D map distribution service covering limited areas of the world in February 2014. The service was a great improvement on existing 3D world maps, which offered resolutions of up only 30 or 90 meters.

AW3DTM has been used in over 60 countries. NTT Data and RESTEC have steadily expanded the areas of coverage, culminating in the newly announced completion of all terrestrial areas on earth.

"Our AW3DTM global digital 3D map service, thanks to its high-detail five-meter resolution covering the entire world, will provide new data for greater insight into global issues," said Ken Tsutsui, project leader of the 3D Atlas initiative at NTT DATA.

"We expect that customers will use the service to address needs in infrastructure, transportation, disaster prevention and much more. In particular, we believe that AW3DTM could help emerging countries to advance their infrastructure development."

Specific applications could include identifying areas vulnerable to tsunamis or landslides caused by large earthquakes, devising global-scale construction plans of multinational companies, improving global-scale traffic simulation or navigation for air and ground transportation, streamlining resource and energy studies and logistics, and evaluating climate-change risks due to rising seas or glacial melting.

AW3DTM is available to individuals, companies or organizations that require map data covering specific geographic areas. Prices are available upon request.

"NTT DATA and RESTEC are delighted to support global needs for highly detailed topographic information with the AW3DTM global digital 3D map service," said Kazuo Isono, project manager at RESTEC.

"Going forward, we expect the service to create new markets for digital map services and related fields, especially as we incorporate additional geographical information and systems to respond to ever-wider needs worldwide."

In addition to the standard AW3DTM global digital 3D map service with five-meter resolution, NTT DATA and RESTEC are also launching enhanced and building-focused services using high resolution satellite imagery. The enhanced service offers a high-definition and high-resolution 3D map at half-meter or two-meter resolution, both of which are offered on an on-demand basis.

The building-focused service utilizes satellite images shot in near proximity to offer highly detailed pictures of structures and their heights in a vector-map format suitable for simulations, such as those identifying areas of co-channel interference or analyzing site perspectives for construction projects.

The service covers buildings in Japan, while those outside of Japan are available on demand.