Tile Importer

What is this addon?

The Tile importer addon lets the user import Google Maps 3d Tiles into Blender directly using the Google Maps api.

Why need this addon?

This addon takes inspiration from Blosm addon by Prochitecture. Blosm addon allows users to import Google map 3d tiles, but blosm has some serious limitations when it comes to importing areas larger than 1km x 1km. Blosm addon takes too long to import when the tile count exceeds a thousand. It does not have any sort of backup in case of blender crashes.

This addon has fthe ollowing features:

• Download the tiles asynchronously 
• Caches the downloads in case of Blender crashes
• Allows the user to skip duplicate tiles that are already imported
• Allows for importing of areas larger than 10km x 10km (system limitation may apply )

How to set up:

1. After downloading the addon from the website.Open blender
2. Go to preferences > Addons > Install from disk 
3. Now search "tile importer" in the search box 
4. Expand the addon preferences 
5. Put the folder path where the tiles will be cached 
6. Also, enter your Google API key 

How to get the Google API key: To get the API key, you need to set up a billing account with a valid bank card number. However, you will get 1000 imports of Google 3D Tiles for free from the Google Maps Platform each month. Google's detailed instructions on getting the 3D Tiles Key are here.

Don't forget to enable the Maps Tiles API as described here. Also, you shouldn't apply any restrictions to your 3D Tiles Key.

Once you have the 3D Tiles Key, enter it in the field API Key in the addon preferences.

How to Use:

1. The addon panel is located on the Tile Importer tab of the right side panel of the Blender 3D View. The panel is toggled with the N key.
2. Press the button select (i) to select a map extent for your area of interest. A browser window pops up with the special page to select the map extent. Follow the instructions on the webpage. At the end of this step, you will have a string with coordinates copied to the clipboard. Now return to Blender.
3. Press the button paste (ii) to paste the coordinates of your area of interest.
4. Select a desired level of detail in the drop-down list (iii).
5. Press the button import  (iv) to start the download and import of Google 3D Tiles.
6. If you have already imported an area and you want to expand it. You can select the desired area and then check the (v) box, and it will skip those tiles that are already imported

Credits:

• Code referenced from blosm addon by Prochitecture

By using Google 3D Tiles, you are bound by

• Google’s Terms of Service
• Google Maps Platform Terms of Service
• Google Privacy Policy

Also review:

• Map Tiles API Policies
• Google Maps Platform: Commonly asked questions about our recently launched Photorealistic 3D Tiles