News on OSM2World

OSM2World at FOSDEM and FOSSGIS 2026

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World will be featured at two upcoming conferences: FOSDEM 2026 in Brussels and FOSSGIS 2026 in Göttingen.

FOSDEM 2026: 3D rendering OpenStreetMap data

A presentation on OSM2World is scheduled in the Geospatial devroom of the FOSDEM conference. It provides an overview of the current state and capabilities of OSM2World.

Schedule

FOSSGIS 2026: Neue Werkzeuge fürs 3D-Mapping

The German-language presentation titled “Neue Werkzeuge fürs 3D-Mapping” (“New tools for 3D mapping”) at FOSSGIS 2026 focuses on tools for editing 3D data in OpenStreetMap, in particular the OSM2World-powered editing features developed as part of the OSM-3D-Edit project supported by the Prototype Fund.

Prototype Fund OSM-3D-Edit roadmap

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

OSM-3D-Edit, one of the projects participating in the 2025 Prototype Fund round, uses OSM2World to make it easier to contribute 3D data to OpenStreetMap.

The Prototype Fund supports innovative free and open source software with funds from the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

3D preview for JVM and web browsers

The goal of the OSM-3D-Edit project is to make adding 3D data to OpenStreetMap easier and faster by improving the editing tools available to mappers. One key feature of such tools is to provide immediate feedback through a real-time 3D preview of the data which is being edited – without first having to upload the data to the OpenStreetMap database, and without having to wait hours or days for a data consumer’s rendering to update. This functionality is implemented using OSM2World, which makes the ability to render 3D scenes from OpenStreetMap data readily available through a library interface.

Although it is already possible to have the OSM2World desktop application open while editing and use its ability to render locally-stored .osm files to get a preview of recently-mapped data, that workflow is both harder to set up and less convenient to use than a tool integrated directly into the user’s editor. Wherever possible, the preview and the other tools developed during OSM-3D-Edit should therefore be integrated directly into common editor programs for working with OpenStreetMap data.

One such editor is JOSM, the Java OpenStreetMap Editor. JOSM is a popular choice among experienced OSM contributors, who are disproportionately likely to be interested in the relatively advanced task of adding 3D data. It runs on the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), which makes it easy to integrate OSM2World. And it offers a plugin architecture which makes it easy to integrate new tools. Therefore, it is a great candidate for a first implementation of the project’s 3D editing tools. Ideally, this work will be implemented in collaboration with existing projects which work on 3D functionality for JOSM.

However, the OpenStreetMap ecosystem includes a large number of editors and editing workflows, so tools for JOSM can only be a first step. In particular, the OSM-3D-Edit project also aims to offer an alternative to users who prefer web-based tools.

Tools and validation rules for 3D editing and indoor mapping

Besides a 3D preview, there are several types of tools which can help make 3D editing a smooth experience. These include tools for working with geometric details, such as angles and directions, as well as presets to offer a more user-friendly interface to enter tags. Automated validation tools to check values for plausibility and detect common mapping errors are also useful in addition to the visual inspection offered by the preview. All of these are on the roadmap for OSM-3D-Edit.

Because 3D mapping and indoor mapping have some challenges in common, and because applications with seamless indoor and outdoor visualizations require both types of data, indoor mapping is an additional use case to keep in mind during the creation of these tools.

Supporting a larger subset of OSM tagging in the 3D preview

OSM2World already understands hundreds of OSM keys and tags. However, the OSM data model is constantly evolving, so there are still plenty of attributes and edge cases which OSM2World does not yet support.

That matters a lot for the intended use case as a 3D preview for editors: A preview should accurately depict the data that is being entered. Therefore, part of the project is to support additional attributes which would otherwise not be visible in the preview. This involves parsing new tags, but also related work such as more robust building geometry calculations. Of course, this work will be contributed back into the open source codebase of OSM2World and will therefore benefit all users of OSM2World.

Software Sprint - Einzelvorhaben: OSM-3D-Edit - 3D-Bearbeitungswerkzeuge für OpenStreetMap

Förderkennzeichen 16IS25S04

3DMR support for OSM2World

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A new feature enables OSM2World to load custom or community-created models in the glTF format.

OSM2World creates 3D scenes from data in the OSM data format used by the OpenStreetMap project. However, there are limits to what can be done using just the OSM data model. Sometimes, it would be nice to augment a 3D scene with models produced in a specialized 3D creation tool.

A recently re-launched community project, the 3D Model Repository (3DMR), is designed with that use case in mind. Contributors can upload 3D models under a suitable open license and link them from OSM. These models can depict a large variety of features, ranging from mass-produced benches or street lights to famous buildings and landmarks.

3DMR model of the Eiffel Tower in an OSM2World 3D rendering of Paris from OpenStreetMap data

When OSM2World encounters a link to 3DMR in OSM data, it can replace the OSM object with the 3D model available on 3DMR. Depending on the settings, models can be either be automatically downloaded from the 3DMR API or read from a local copy obtained as a nightly download.

Notably, integrating 3DMR content is only possible thanks to another feature scheduled for the 0.5.0 release: Support for parsing models in the .gltf and .glb file formats. This already makes it possible to define custom models for some types of objects, such as parked vehicles, in an OSM2World configuration file. Because .glb is used by 3DMR as well, the same code is used to place models from 3DMR.

Parked cars loaded as external glTF models, showing random color, rotation and model selection.

3DMR support will be included in OSM2World’s 0.5.0 release and is already part of the latest build available on the download page. It is also enabled on the OSM2World demo, so 3DMR models should start appearing there over the next few days.

OSM2World at FOSSGIS 2025

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World has been presented at the FOSSGIS 2025 conference in Münster, Germany.

Slides and video recordings of the German-language presentation titled “Updates für den 3D-Pionier” are available:

A focus of the presentation are the features developed during round 16 of the Prototype Fund.

New OSM2World command line

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World’s 0.5.0 release will include a major overhaul of its command line interface (CLI).

Despite the ability to use OSM2World as a graphical application, the CLI remains one of the most powerful ways to access its functionality and a popular choice among advanced users. Because OSM2World’s feature set, and therefore the number of available options, has grown significantly over the years, the new CLI will present a command-style interface alongside several related improvements.

Subcommands

The most noticeable change is the introduction of subcommands. Command-style interfaces appear increasingly popular with CLI tools. Git may be the most prominent user of the paradigm, but there are several other examples such as Go and Nominatim as well.

Command-style organization reflects the fact that there are a few distinct modes of using OSM2World, and while there are a few parameters which make sense for more than one of these modes, many are specific to just one.

As is customary, OSM2World’s CLI includes a help command which lets you learn about new options or remember rarely-used ones without having to leave the command line. Each subcommand comes with its own help message, which is formatted with ANSI colors and styles to make it a little easier to read. For example, this is an excerpt from the help page for the convert command – likely the most common way of using OSM2World from the command line, and the one with the largest number of available options:

Excerpt from the output of help convert

Smart defaults

Besides the introduction of subcommands, working on the command line interface has also been an opportunity to make it smarter and more convenient to use. Wherever it makes sense, parameters are now optional and use sensible defaults.

This means that a simple command such as

convert -i in.osm -o out.png

will result in a PNG rendering with a suitable camera perspective and resolution:

3D rendering of the National Library of Greece from OpenStreetMap

This is possible because OSM2World assumes certain defaults and conventions. For example, it assumes that we want a PNG image because of the output file name, that the image should show the entire bounding box of the input file, that we want North to be at the top of the image, that we’re using OSM2World’s standard map style, and that we want a viewing angle and aspect ratio that provides a nice “isometric” 3D effect.

Of course, it is possible to overwrite all of these assumptions if you want. With extra parameters, the same input file could produce a very different visual result.

Autocompletion

To make OSM2World’s command line interface even more convenient, you can use command line completion in Bash or Zsh Unix shells. With this feature enabled, you only need to type the first few letters of a subcommand or option and hitting the TAB key will do the rest. This autocompletion is aware of all the available parameters and which values (such as file names or constants) makes sense for them.

Using this feature requires setting up an alias and sourcing the autocompletion script. Like the other improvements, implementation of this feature was a enabled by the picoci library.

Release schedule and backwards compatibility

The new CLI will be part of the 0.5.0 release – and you can already test it using the latest build available on the download page! However, old command lines will continue to work for a while. If you call OSM2World without a subcommand, it will fall back to the legacy CLI.

OSM2World 0.4.0 released

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.4.0 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

upgrade to Java 17
upgrade to JOGL 2.4.0, drop i586 natives
new output format: glb
new input format: GeoDesk
zipped glTF output
initial support for including existing glTF models
command line option for LOD
LOD support for all modules
LOD selector in viewer
ability to read tile metadata from external sources
ability to read zipped SRTM hgt files
reasonable default elevation handler
consistent handling of overlapping features
rendering of parked vehicles
padding for textures to avoid clamping artifacts
3D building improvements: roof:angle, relation and roof line edge cases
resolution of config paths relative to config location
improved logging

Prototype Fund Round 16 feature roadmap

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World is one of the projects which is currently being funded in round 16 of the Prototype Fund.

The Prototype Fund is a funding program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research that is managed and evaluated by the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.

Work during the 6-month of development period is going to focus primarily on making it easier for developers to integrate OSM2World’s ability to generate 3D models into applications and websites according to their individual requirements.

3D tile generation

Map tiles are a common approach to serving geospatial data on the Web, for both 2D and 3D maps. OSM2World is already able to output scenes as glTF and glb files, and will be improved to make it more convenient and performant to generate an entire set of tiles in this popular 3D content exchange format. Support for the open 3D Tiles standard pioneered by Cesium.js will allow website developers to display OSM2World’s output using existing frontend libraries. 3D tile generation will also be used to publish an interactive demo of OSM2World based on WebGL.

Custom glTF models

OSM2World ships with a collection of liberally licensed assets which includes textures and 3D models. However, users of OSM2World may wish to replace these with their own assets. Thanks to the upcoming ability to import models from glTF files, this is as simple as adding the path to such an asset to a human-readable configuration file. Other features of the glTF import include randomly chosing from multiple available models, and re-coloring assets at runtime according to color information from the OpenStreetMap database or random color variations.

Improved command line interface

Developers and advanced users can use OSM2World’s command line interface to integrate its capabilities into scripts and automate recurring tasks. However, OSM2World has acquired several relatively distinct modes of operation over time, and this is not yet reflected in the command line interface. This calls for a reorganization of the existing options, taking inspiration from the “subcommand” metaphor used by popular tools like Git.

Modular architecture and Maven library

In addition to its core functionality, OSM2World contains code that is only required when running it as a web server or standalone application. This extra functionality is not needed when using OSM2World as a library. Therefore, the goal is to split the OSM2World codebase into several modules, allowing developers to use only the required module(s) as dependencies for their project. Dependencies of the core module will be reviewed for compatibility with other platforms, such as Android systems and servers. The goal is to replace or make optional dependencies that would prevent OSM2World from being used in other environments other than desktop computers.

To further encourage the use of OSM2World as a library in third-party projects, builds of the software will be made available as Maven dependencies through a suitable repository, and its interface will be improved to make it convenient to use in multiple programming languages, including Java and Kotlin.

More powerful map styles

A final goal is to improve OSM2World’s ability to support different map styles – similar to 2D map renderers, which typically allow the user to customize the visual appearance of the output with map styles specified in languages such as MapCSS. A map style would assign 3D models and textures to OpenStreetMap elements based on their attributes, and modify the appearance of the generated models according to the user’s requirements.

Software Sprint - Einzelvorhaben: OSM2World-3D-Modelle der Welt aus OpenStreetMap-Daten

Förderkennzeichen 01IS24S36

OSM2World 0.3.1 released

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.3.1 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

use JOGL 2.4.0-rc-20210111 instead of 2.0.2
compatible with modern Java versions

OSM2World 0.3.0 released

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.3.0 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

upgrade to Java 1.8
new output format: glTF
new input format: mbtiles
PBR materials
SVG textures and text textures
texture atlas generation
initial LOD support
experimental Simple Indoor Tagging support
country-dependent traffic signs and properties
window and door geometry
attachment connectors and rooftop objects
numerous new and improved object types and attributes
automatic loading of a default style
slightly improved command line parameters
maven build

OSM2World at SotM 2021: 3D Rendering with OSM2World

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World has been presented at the State of the Map 2021 online conference.

This talk introduces the capabilities of OSM2World, with a particular focus on features which were added recently at the time of the 2021 conference.

OSM2World at SotM 2019: 3D OSM in your Browser

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World has been presented at the State of the Map 2019 conference in Heidelberg, Germany.

The talk demonstrates the abilities of OSM2World and highlights the ongoing work on a WebGL-based web frontend, showcases some impressive 3D mapping around the world, and briefly explores how the software works behind the scenes.

OSM2World 0.2.0 released

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.2.0 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

shaders and textures
support for tags from “Simple 3D Buildings”
lanes and road markings
numerous new object types and attributes
Overpass API as a data source
ppm output format
full multipolygon and coastline support
highly experimental elevation support based on SRTM

OSM2World receives Thomas Krenn Award

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World has received the 2014 Thomas Krenn Award.

The award is intended to support Open Source projects and includes a 2500€ hardware donation. OSM2World contributors Tobias Knerr and Peter Barth traveled to Freyung to accept the award at the headquarters of German server manufacturer Thomas Krenn.

Articles in German tech news

Image of the Thomas Krenn Award trophy

OSM2World 0.1.9 released

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.9 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

new PowerModule with power poles, minor power lines and wind turbines
many new WorldObject types in StreetFurnitureModule
correct rendering of covered ways through buildings
ways through buildings require tunnel=[building_]passage
treat roof:shape and building:roof:shape as synonyms
use bounds from input file for terrain and forest boundaries
keep camera position after reload (only works well with same bounding box)
correct aspect ratio depending on window dimensions
use Trove lib in PrimitiveBuffer, make buffering optional for PNG output
make canvas limit for PNG export configurable

OSM2World 0.1.8 released

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.8 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

support for roof shapes (as ridge/edge geometry or building tags)
support for building parts
allow replacing POVRay textures and declarations in osm2world_definitions.inc
make elevation calculator configurable, default to ZeroElevationCalculator
bugfix in ForceEC. (duplicate points with ele) solves missing walls in POVRay
OBJ export can be split into multiple files
better minimum and maximum depths for orthographic view
configurable PNG output background color
support for entrance=*
statistics dialog in viewer
reload menu item in viewer
code improvements (configurable Targets, toString and isEmpty for OSM data)

OSM2World 0.1.7 released

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.7 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

viewer: add option to choose between different elevation calculation methods
new ZeroElevationCalculator that sets everything to elevation 0
new config option createTerrain to disable terrain calculation
use ele tags on invisible ways and areas
artificial nodes in ways for better terrain elevation
ability to render orthographic view from north, west, or east
bugfix related to orthographic tile boundaries in POVRay
support for parameter files
more street furniture: advertising columns, billboards, benches
render handrails on steps
update of Osmosis lib version and support for .osm.pbf files
GLPbuffer for command line rendering (png output no longer requires a window)
filter degenerate triangles from POVRay output
new Exit action (menu item and shortcut)

OSM2World 0.1.6 released

Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.6 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

fewer visual artifacts when scenes mix known and unknown ele
unconnected WorldObjects influence terrain triangulation
new WorldObject: building entrance
support for min_height
always use JOSM workaround for .osm files with generator=‘JOSM’
use ele tags on ways and areas for elevation calculation
show error message box even for unexpected errors

OSM2World 0.1.5 released

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.5 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

configurable materials
configuration file no longer limited to command line interface
zoom with +/- keys
support for building:min_level
prevent silent InvalidGeometryException crashes during conversions

OSM2World 0.1.4 released

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.4 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

support for dragging files into the viewer
addition of some missing library files
Mac OS X support in start script
alternative ElevationCalculators available for library users

OSM2World 0.1.3 released

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.3 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

extended public interface of the ConversionFacade
workaround that allows reading JOSM XML files
new StreetFurnitureModule

OSM2World 0.1.2 released

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.2 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

fixed multipolygon support
help/version text in empty viewer
new build script

OSM2World 0.1.1 released

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

OSM2World 0.1.1 has been released and is available for download on the OSM2World download page.

Features

new export format: Wavefront .obj
introduced tunnel junction nodes
improved keyboard controls in viewer (multiple simultaneous keys)
visual activity indicator during exports
fixed NullPointerException in AABBDebugView
various small fixes