🛰️ How to create a "Search & Fly to Location" feature in Cesium for Unreal (C++)

Cesium for Unreal
1

Hi everyone! I’m new to Unreal Engine and Cesium, and I’m working on a project similar to Google Earth. I want to create a feature where the user can type a place name like “Eiffel Tower” or “New York”, and the camera automatically flies to that location on the Cesium 3D globe.

Here’s what I’m trying to achieve:

  1. A search bar or input for typing the place name.
  2. Use a geocoding API (like Nominatim or Google Maps) to convert the place name into latitude and longitude.
  3. Use CesiumGeoreference to convert lat/lon into Unreal world coordinates.
  4. Move the player or camera to that location smoothly.

I’m coding this in C++, and I’m using the Cesium for Unreal plugin.
I’ve already seen that Cesium has functions for converting Cartographic (lat/lon) to ECEF and Unreal positions — but I’m not sure how to connect that with HTTP API calls or UI in Unreal.

If anyone has done this before, or has:

  • A working example or demo
  • Blueprint or C++ snippets
  • Tips for beginners

…I’d be super grateful! :folded_hands:

Thanks in advance!

2

Hi @Piyush_Verma,
What have you tried so far, and where are you getting stuck?

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I’m still new to Unreal Engine and Cesium, so I haven’t built the feature yet — I’ve been learning about it through ChatGPT and other resources.

Right now, I’m just trying to understand how to:

  • Take a place name (like “Paris”),
  • Use a geocoding API to get the latitude/longitude,
  • Then move the camera in Unreal using Cesium to that location.

I haven’t written the full code yet, but I understand the steps in theory.

My main question is:
Has anyone already built this kind of “Search & Fly to Location” feature in Cesium for Unreal using C++ or Blueprints?

If yes, I’d love to see how they did it or get any tips.
Thanks so much!

4

This thread seems similar to this one here, where @azrogers gave a helpful answer. But I think you’ve already seen it by now, so I’m just linking it here for closure :smile:

5

Haha yep, I’ve already stalked that thread like three times now :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
Appreciate the link though—always good to double-check the wisdom of @azrogers!
Consider this case officially closed… unless it reopens itself at 3 AM like a ghost bug :ghost::joy:

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