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August 4, 2007
Panorama of 3D Denver from Google Earth
Last year, Digital Urban blog posted a tutorial for how to create a QuickTime VR spinning panorama out of Google Earth. It basically uses the same process you might use in real life with a camera. You take "photos" (screenshots) in a circular pattern to capture frames in all directions including straight down. Then you use software to stitch together the resulting photos. The results are can be seen with the QuickTime VR viewer to spin your view around as if you were on the inside of the views. It gives you a different kind of 3D view. DigitalUrban, and some of its readers, created numerous shots of places in Google Earth.
All of the examples I have seen were done in areas of the Earth with flat terrains. A few weeks back, I decided to try something with 3D terrain and 3D Buildings turned on. So, I chose Denver, Colorado. This proved to be a bit tricky since nifty little program called Gaby's KMZ Panorama Capture Tool was designed with the assumption the horizon would be flat. So, I had to hand create new shots for the horizon to allow the mountains to be seen in the background of Denver's horizon. I had hoped to be able to create a QTVR with higher resolution, but I couldn't figure out how to set the tools for higher resolution output. The screen captures I took were large enough for a very high-res output (Andy, did you get my E-mail?). Anyway, the results are still cool - if just a bit blurry. Check out the resulting QTVR here. Just point in different directions and click the left mouse button to move your view.
I have some other ideas for panoramas using this technique. But, it would be handy if Gaby's tool were designed to allow for irregular horizons. And, I definitely would like to know how to create higher resolution QTVRs in the final step.
On a related note: if you are lucky enough to have GE Pro, you can create very high resolution (up to 4800x4800) screen shots. This is a great way to produce poster-size prints of scenes from Google Earth - for your personal use only (you can't sell the resulting prints). That's what I was intending to use for the big QTVR.
See also: GEB blog entry about the tutorial, and the other cool concept DigitalUrban created for viewing panorama's from the real world inside Google Earth. And, if you have a SpaceNavigator, make sure to read the best way to view panorama bubbles in GE.
Posted by FrankTaylor at August 4, 2007 4:59 PM
Comments
Posted by: Leszek Pawlowicz at August 4, 2007 6:32 PM
Frank,
Good post and a great setting for a QTVR - bet it makes a good print. It would be interesting to see the 'flat' image and to run a hyperbolic filter on it.
Andy
I didn't get your email btw.
Posted by: Andy at August 5, 2007 5:29 AM
I notice that the 3D models in your screenshot are casting shadows that aren't in the underlying imagery. Is this a new feature?
Posted by: Lauren at August 5, 2007 12:16 PM
Tool updated for hilly horizons ;)
Posted by: Gaby at August 14, 2007 1:07 PM
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An alternative to using AutoViz or PTGui is AutoStitch (http://autostitch.net), which does an incredible job at automatically stitching JPG images together, and which also recognizes and crops 360-degree panoramas at the right point. For converting the panorama to QTVR, try Pano2QTVR (http://www.pano2qtvr.com/), free for non-commercial use.