[iTowns-dev] iTowns version 1.0 released !

[Vincent Picavet (ml)]

# iTowns Version 1.0 Release

The iTowns project is proud to release iTowns Version 1.0.

iTowns is a web framework written in Javascript/WebGL for visualisation
of 3D geographic data, allowing precise measurements in 3D. Its first
purpose is the visualisation of street view images and terrestrial LIDAR
point clouds, though it now supports much more data types.

Version 1.0 is the first opensource release of iTowns. It is the core of
the original iTowns application developped during the last years at IGN
MATIS research laboratory.

* Screenshot : http://itowns.github.io/images/sample_itowns.jpg
* Video :      https://vimeo.com/154052505
* Website :    https://itowns.github.io

This version provides the following features :

* Load and project Oriented Images on mesh (cube or city model)
* Load and display Panoramic Images
* Load Depth Panoramic Image and render in 3D
* Load 2D multipolygons with height (building footprint) from WFS or
local file and triangulate it to create building boxes. This mesh can
then be use for texture projection.
* Navigate through Image Data using click and go functions
* Load and display Point Cloud from PLY files.
* Load and display 3D textured models (B3D, 3DS).
* Simple API interface.

The French National Mapping Agency (IGN) provided a sample dataset,
which can be viewed on the iTowns demo :

http://itowns.github.io/itowns

You can download iTowns Version 1.0 here :

https://github.com/iTowns/itowns/releases/tag/v1.0

## OpenSource

iTowns is an OpenSource organization, delivering software components for
3D geospatial data visualization on the web.
The iTowns project is open to contributions from anyone in the
community. You can fork the project on GitHub
(https://github.com/iTowns/itowns ) and send Pull Request, we will be
pleased to integrate them.
Do not hesitate to consult the iTowns wiki (
https://github.com/iTowns/itowns-project/wiki ) for general informations
on how to contribute.

## Codesprint

On the 3d and 4th of February, 2016, the iTowns project held a
codesprint, hosted by IGNFab in Paris. It gathered around 15 developers
and enabled to finalize the 1.0 release, work on iTowns project
organization, documentation and demos, as well as design and test new
features for the next generation of the iTowns framework. A PSC has been
formed, with Alexandre Devaux (IGN) as chair.

This collaboration has been fruitful, and is a good kick-off for all
developers willing to work together on 3D geospatial data visualization.

## Thank you

The iTowns project would like to thank IGN for its move to OpenSource
and time dedicated to this software.
We would also like to thank Oslandia and AtolCD who took part in the
development.