An Application of Virtual Reality Formats in Managing Visual Information of Earthquake Damaged Sites

The purpose of this paper is to present an application of virtual reality (VR) formats in environmental information management which could have facilitated the retrieval and illustration of damaged site information during Taiwan 921 earthquake. Disadvantages in data collection are listed. The comparison of data types lead to the demand for the collection of site-related data. This research strongly suggests that environmental data should be collected in a VR formats before earthquake occurred. Photos should be taken, transferred into VR panorama and object formats, stored in a server, and used to serve emergency rescue needs.