The VC Publisher is an out-of-the-box platform for creating, maintaining, and publishing 3D Digital Twins as Cesium based websites. Recent developments on the platform have expanded its REST API allowing more access from external tools including FME. When combining the VC Publisher REST API and the FME Server REST API the capabilities for custom workflows and automation are significantly increased. This presentation demonstrates how you can use the VC Publisher to run a custom job on FME Server and get the results back – we also show how FME Server automations can be used to control the VC Publisher via its new REST API to update a published map using new data.

1. Using FME Flow and VC Publisher
inside Urban Data Platforms

2. Presenters
The
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of
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Thomas Adolphi
Senior Project Manager
VCS
Matthew Smillie
Senior FME Specialist
VCS

3. The
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Agenda
1. Introduction
2. Part 1 - Leveraging the VC Publisher
REST API with FME
3. Part 2 - Upload, Process and View
powered by OpenAPI‘s
4. Conclusion

4. The
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of
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Introduction

5. VC Publisher
• Data > Web
• CesiumJS
• OGC Standards
• 3DTiles
• A new OpenAPI!

6. The
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Leveraging the VC Publisher
REST API with FME

7. The
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Don't Wait, Automate!

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The OpenAPI Opens the door to the power of
FME
● On demand conversions (E.g., client upload)
● Chain VC Publisher tasks to automate custom workflows
● Keep data and published application evergreen
● Automate repetitive preprocessing steps
● Rapidly Integrate custom workflows

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Connecting to the VC Publisher
● REST API at <HOST>/apidoc/v1/
● 120+ Different REST Calls available
● Too much work to "fully" support in FME
with CustomTransformers.

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Connecting to the VC Publisher
● REST API at <HOST>/apidoc/v1/
● 120+ Different REST Calls available
● Too much work to "fully" support in FME
with CustomTransformers.
● 23+ Different Custom Transformers
● Authentication, Upload, Download, Run
Task, etc

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Import From OpenAPI
Spec (FME2023.1+)
● Allows for importing call
directly from the spec doc
● Reduces chances of typos
● Easily compare with other
tools (e.g., Postman)
● UI Could provide more info:
○ Descriptions,
○ Group/Sort by Tags

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Connecting to the VC Publisher - Authentication
● Token based authentication OR
● FME Web Connection

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● Set up web connection if you
can
● Requires a good knowledge of
the authentication process
● Worth putting in the effort
especially if working in a shared
environment
Connecting to the VC
Publisher - Authentication

14. The
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Helpful FME Tools
● HTTPCaller
● JSONFragmenter (GET)
● JSONFlattener (GET)
● JSONExtractor (GET/PUT)
● JSONUpdater (PUT)
● JSONTemplator (PUT/POST)
● AttributeJSONPacker (POST)
● Path Reader (Uploads)

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Helpful FME Tools

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Store, find, move and view
your data.

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Most important in UDP’s
• Break down data silos
• Accessibility of data
• Use your data
• Protection of data
• View your data
Data harmonization

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THUS… you need
● A catalog
● Open standards
● Open API‘s
● Protection rules
Data integration &
processing
Accessibilit
y
Data
protection

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Upload, Process and View
your data powered by Open
API‘s.

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Open API
● OpenAPI-Specification (OAS) defines a standardised, language
independent interface to HTTP-APIs, giving human-beings as well
as computers the capability to explore and understand a service
without access to source code, documentation or network checks.
If correctly set up a client is able to understand and interact with a
service by a minimum of implementation logic
● An OpenAPI-Definition can be used by tools for documentation
creation, for API representation, tools for source code creation, test
creation and many more.

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Open API‘s
We will make use of:
1. VC Publisher API
1. Store & register data
2. Trigger converter jobs
3. Find and load data
2. FME Flow API
1. Trigger transformation jobs

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The FLOW of data
FLOW
FME FLOW
FME FLOW
Data harmonization

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The flow of data
FME FLOW
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
Upload to data
store
& register in
catalog
download &
transform
Upload
to
data
store
Find in catalog
Load from data
store
view data
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
{REST
API}
Upload to data
store
& register in
catalog
transfor
m
Store in data
store
register in
catalog
Find in catalog
Load from data
store
view data

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25. The
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26. { LIVE
DEMO }

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Conclusion

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Open API’s are essential for…
● UDP’s
● Flow of data
● Data integration
● Easy use of urban (geo)data
● Automation

29. The
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We presented
● Some powerful possibilities offered by OpenAPI's
● How easy it is to leverage the VC Publisher OpenAPI
from FME Flow
● With minimum effort in coding
○ Most annoying stuff is UI / UX ☺

30. The
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Resources
● VCS Website: https://vc.systems/en
● VC Publisher: https://vc.systems/en/products/vc-publisher/
● VC View: https://vc.systems/en/products/vc-view/
● VC Infra: https://vc.systems/en/products/vc-infra/
● GitHub: https://github.com/virtualcitySYSTEMS

31. ThankYou!
Thomas: tadolphi@vc.systems
Matt: msmillie@vc.systems