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January 29, 2010
Madrid is now in 3D
Madrid, Spain is now in 3D, it's quite impressive. According to Google, Madrid has the largest concentration of 3D models anywhere on the planet! If you see if for yourself, you'll see that it's true.
Through a combination of SketchUp and Building Maker submissions, Madrid has an amazing depth of coverage. Fly there yourself
, or check out the video below for a quick tour.
No word on whether they've added additional cities or buildings, but I assume that various other user-submitted content was added to other areas of the world. If you see any of yours that just landed in Google Earth, leave a comment and let us know.
Posted by mickmel at 9:00 AM
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January 25, 2010
Real-time 3D models with Live3D
A group of graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis have developed an incredible technique to put real-time imagery on the sides of 3D buildings.
In the words of Austin Abrams, one of the members of the group:
In the last few months, we've been developing Live3D, a Google Earth-powered web application that allows users to transform photos into 3D geometry in Google Earth. If you give the application a webcam URL, then the geometry of the scene changes as the webcam image refreshes. So, you can recreate (say) the Eiffel tower in 3D and get a live, constantly refreshing 3D model, instead of the static Sketchup model. We have a few examples of university campuses, and you can actually watch in real-time as students walk across the surface of Google Earth.
Once a user has built up a scene enough, the camera is automatically calibrated, revealing its location and orientation.
As Digital Urban points out, this technique could work particularly well for urban areas where the content would change much more often (billboards, etc).
The technique is amazing, though it certainly needs some refinement. The biggest problem will likely be the quality of webcam images -- most are of lower quality than what would be ideal. Still, that could one day be an option in Google Earth; view the standard model (better looking) or view the real-view version of that model. The possibilities are certainly intriguing.
Check out their site to browse through the models. They're all shown using the Google Earth Plugin, so you'll need to have that installed to see them.
Posted by mickmel at 8:07 AM
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January 22, 2010
Kite photos of Petite Tabac
Back in November, the first batch of Frank's aerial photographs (taken via kite) arrived in Google Earth. Part of his goal with the Tahina Expedition was to capture and share a wide variety of data for Google Earth, and this was a good start. Not much later, his journey became a part of the Ocean Layer in Google Earth.
Now he's taken some beautiful images of Petite Tabac, an island featured in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie (when Elizabeth burned Jack's rum), located near the Tobago Cays in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
He's hoping the imagery will show up in Google Earth soon, but in the meantime you can download a KML of it which is a Superoverlay of the imagery. In addition to that, he's created a Photosynth of the images (Microsoft Silverlight required). Photosynth is a tool from Microsoft that lets you browse pictures in a 3D environment. We first mentioned it back in 2006, and it was recently featured on here as a tool to view recent imagery from Haiti.
You can read more about this on the Tahina Expedition blog.
Posted by mickmel at 6:57 AM
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January 21, 2010
Panoramio co-founder Eduardo Manchón leaving Google
Back at Where 2.0 2007, Google CTO Michael Jones announced that they had acquired Panoramio, the popular photo hosting company. At the time, there were roughly two million photos in their database. By the following spring it had risen to 4.5 million photos, and is now well over 20 million!
Sadly, co-founder Eduardo Manchón has just announced that he is leaving Google and heading onward to new projects. In particular, he mentions Askaro, a way to ask questions about a particular geographic area (neighborhoods, etc). He will be replaced on the Panoramio team by Gerard Sanz.
However, it's not all bad news. As TechCrunch points out, many Google acquisitions end very poorly, with the acquired company pretty much dying (Dodgeball, Jaiku, etc), but that certainly wasn't the case here. Panoramio is not only a major part of Google Earth, but is also featured in Google Maps and StreetView. It continues to grow in popularity, and seems likely to continue to thrive.
We certainly wish him well with his new ventures! Given the geographic nature of his new site, I'm sure we'll be writing about him again in the future.
Posted by mickmel at 4:07 PM
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New StreetView imagery in Sweden and Denmark
Google has just released StreetView imagery for Sweden and Denmark, details of which can be found on Google Maps Mania.
I've also heard that various other areas have been updated, including:
UK: New small areas in the UK are now visible. Avebury, Glendurgan Garden, Castle Drogo, Nymans Garden, The Wicken Fen, and many more
Italy: Coverage is expanded, particularly in southern Italy. (Sicily and Sardinia also got updates and look to be near 100%)
Netherlands: Updated.
Taiwan Expanded coverage.
If you know of any other new/updated areas, please let us know. Some of the best new locations have already been posted on Street View Gallery, StreetViewFun and the Google Earth Hacks StreetView section, so check those out to see the best sights in this new imagery.
Posted by mickmel at 8:44 AM
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January 20, 2010
New 3D models for the Olympics (and Cincinnati)
Toward the end of last year, Google pushed out a bunch of excellent 3D models for the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, covering 8 of the 9 venues. They've now updated many of those models with higher-resolution imagery and they also added the ninth venue (the Bobsled Course).
With this update, they have include a total of 54 buildings across all nine venues. You can view them in the Google 3D Warehouse, or simply fly out there (Bobsled KML) to see them in Google Earth (make sure to have the "3D Buildings" layer checked).
For another way to view the venues, Soren Johannessen has built a tour of the venues using the Google Earth Plug-in, which you can view here.
Also in the past few days, Google has added 3D buildings to Cincinnati, Ohio. These buildings come from a variety of sources; some are user-generated, some are Google-generated, and some gray buildings were submitted via the Cities in 3D Program. All in all, it makes for a great 3D city to fly through!
Posted by mickmel at 8:27 AM
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January 18, 2010
Mapping the 2010 Santos Tour Down Under
The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under is the biggest cycling race in Australia, and it's the first event in the 2010 UCI (International Cycling Union) World Calendar. It features top riders from all over the world, including Lance Armstrong.
GEB reader Thomas has spent some time building an impressive collection of KML data for the race. You can check out the details on his blog, or simply download the KML file here.
The race begins tomorrow, January 19, and consists of six stages that cover a total of nearly 800 kilometers. Each stage is mapped out in the KML in a different color, and it really helps to show the size of the race.
For more information about the Tour Down Under, you can visit their website at www.tourdownunder.com.au.
Posted by mickmel at 4:33 PM
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Resources for Haiti
In the days since the tragic earthquake in Haiti, many geo-related resources have been released. Here are some of the more noteworthy things we've seen:
[UPDATE - Jan 21 -- Even newer imagery from Google, with incredibly high 15cm resolution in some areas]
Recent imagery from GeoEye
We mentioned it before, but felt it worth mentioning again. Google and GeoEye are working together to push out fresh imagery to a special layer in Google Earth and they've made it available a few different ways. You can download the KML file to view the imagery, and now you can also access it via the "Historical Imagery" slider at the top of your screen. The file is constantly being appended with more data and imagery.
Interactive Imagery Tool from the New York Times
The New York Times has built a slick tool to highlight some of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. It's a unique and powerful way to compare "before and after" imagery, with various landmarks highlighted and explained.
Massive Imagery Files for Relief Organizations
In addition to the updated imagery being provided for Google Earth, GeoEye is releasing massive high-res imagery files for relief organizations. These files are hundreds of MB in size, and intended for mapping professionals to assist in responding to the earthquake.
Staying Connected
Google is doing a lot of things to try to help people stay connected with loved ones in Haiti, such as offering a "People Finder" gadget to get people together, and offering free phone calls via Google Voice from the United States to Haiti. All of the details can be found here.
Bing Maps and Photosynth
Microsoft has built a Photosynth of some of the damaged areas of Port-Au-Prince. Photosynth is a neat way to view collections of photographs, though this imagery was collected from video footage and isn't of the highest quality.
However, they've also added updated imagery to Bing Maps. Unlike Google, this imagery is part of the standard layer now, so you can simply fly there to see it. This makes it more easily accessible to people, but it eliminates the ability to compare before/after shots.
Open Route Service via Open Street Map
OpenRouteService is keeping an updated map of available street routes in Haiti. Due to the extensive damage, many streets are closed. This map can help authorities and rescuers to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Open Street Map is helping with the project. (link via Mapperz)
Do you know of any other great resources? Let us know in the comments.
Posted by mickmel at 7:55 AM
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January 15, 2010
News: Building Maker, iPhone App, SketchUp
New improvements and cities in Building Maker: Google continues to improve the slick (and popular) Building Maker tool. This update makes it even easier to see which other buildings are under construction by fellow modelers, which is a much-requested enhancement. When viewing the map for potential locations to build, blue icons will appear to show where nearby buildings have recently been modeled. In addition, they've added the cities of Milan, Italy and Miami, Florida to the list.
Get the GEB iPhone app: With the help of MotherApp, we're pleased to announce the launch of our first iPhone app! The app gives you quick access to our recent posts, recent videos on
our YouTube page, and our recent tweets (@GEarthBlog). It's nothing too remarkable, but it's free! Download it from the app store here, or simply search for "Google Earth Blog".
New SketchUp Build: A new build of Google SketchUp has just been released, which tackles some bugs and security issues (full details). It's a free update, so it's recommended if you're a SketchUp user.
Posted by mickmel at 7:34 AM
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January 13, 2010
Imagery Layer for Haiti Earthquake has been released
Google has been working with GeoEye over the last 24 hours to get fresh imagery from Haiti to help aid relief efforts. They've just released a KML file for it, which you're encouraged to download. The file is actually a network link, so Google can push additional imagery to you without having to release another KML.
The imagery is remarkably sharp, and shows some amazing scenes such a a soccer field turned into a make-shift camp (shown above), and smoke continuing to billow out of some buildings.
Google has done similar things in the past, with events such as the Myanmar Cyclone or Hurricane Katrina.
In addition to the KML file, Google has set up a crisis response page for the earthquake with lots of information. Specifically, those that are able are encouraged to give donations to help rebuild lives and communities.
Posted by mickmel at 11:06 PM
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Revisiting the SpaceNavigator
It's been more than three years since Frank introduced the SpaceNavigator to all of us, and I thought it was time to give it another look. I mentioned a few days ago (in the comments) that the iPhone version of Google Earth (with multi-touch control) was similar to using a SpaceNavigator when compared to the single-touch version on Google Android devices. After posting that, I thought I should explain what a SpaceNavigator actually is for those that don't yet know.
In a nutshell, the SpaceNavigator is a 3D mouse. Rather than having to pan, then zoom, then pan a little more, then tilt, etc, you can do it all in one motion. You can zoom in, while panning, while tilting a little more, to really feel like you're flying around the world. I've told many people that using the SpaceNavigator made Google Earth feel brand new again.
You can get a pretty good idea of what it can do by watching this video that Frank made a while ago that showed off some of the basic features of it:
You can also check out his review of Disney World 3D, which was done using the SpaceNavigator:
To be honest, I expected that we'd see some competition to the SpaceNavigator by now. A year after it came out, Sandio released their "3D O2 mouse", which was supposed to be even better -- you could use it as a mouse, but it also had various 3D control sticks on it. However, it was a piece of junk and the SpaceNavigator remained king.
Here we are three years later and I still use mine every day. It's a wonderful tool, and Google Earth simply wouldn't be the same without it. It works for Windows and Mac, and you can pick one up at the 3DConnexion online store, or at a handful of specialty retailers.
Posted by mickmel at 8:48 AM
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January 12, 2010
New Google Earth Imagery - January 12
It appears that the first imagery update of 2010 is upon us. As pointed out by sharp-eyed reader 'Kevin', parts of northern France have been updated.
I'm sure there are many other areas as well, but I've yet to track them out. As you discover updated regions, please leave us a comment and let us know.
This new imagery isn't in Google Maps yet, so remember that you can compare Earth vs. Maps to see what's new; the fresh imagery is already in Google Earth, but the old imagery is still in Google Maps. If you compare the two side-by-side and they're not identical, that means that you've found a freshly updated area in Google Earth!
[UPDATE -- 13-Jan, 5:09pm EST]
The KML file has been updated, so you can see the location of all of the fresh imagery.
- Albania: Tirana (thanks 'Edi')
- France: Various areas
- Germany: City of Chermnitz (thanks 'Kevin')
- Macedonia: Skopje (thanks 'Edi')
- Poland: Pila (thanks 'PaSKud')
- Romania: Botosani (thanks 'twist3r')
- Russia: Novorossiysk and Krymsk (thanks 'Mithgol')
- Saudi Arabia: Madinah (thanks 'Alsay')
- Sweden: Southern parts
- United States: Fresno, California (thanks 'David'), Austin, Texas (thanks 'Spencer')
Posted by mickmel at 7:55 AM
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January 11, 2010
Where the streets have your name
Steve Von Worley writes a neat blog called Weather Sealed, where he covers a variety of art, science and other topics. Last week he posted a collection of more than 2000 KML files that show the streets in the continental United States for a variety of common names.
As he says, it's a pretty fun collection if you're "a first grader...or the parent thereof". That fits me, and he's exactly right! My first grader had a fun time looking at all of the streets in the country with her name.
Personally, I had no idea that there were 80 "Mickey" streets (KML) out there.
I'm always looking for ways to get my children interested in Google Earth. Disney World and the Santa Tracker are two great ones to use, but this new tool is another neat one to add to the bag. Sit down with your kids and see how many streets have their name.
Posted by mickmel at 9:26 AM
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January 8, 2010
More 3D models added, with many more on the way
As they often do late in the week, Google has added a bunch more 3D models to Google Earth. There are no new 3D cities this time, but they've added a lot more user-generated models, presumably many of them from users creating them with the Building Maker tool. The official Building Maker Twitter account (@BuildingMaker) even showcased a user ("egRender") that has modeled over 200 buildings!
Google has also announced some numbers from the popular "Model Your Town" competition. As of now, more than 400 locations have taken the challenge to model their town.
As these towns begin producing their 3D content, we could see another nice stream of 3D buildings find their way into Google Earth. We already have three main channels: SketchUp submissions, Building Maker buildings and large cities that are auto-generated by Google. Having another way to get additional models show into Google Earth would be excellent.
Posted by mickmel at 8:35 AM
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January 7, 2010
Google Earth on the Nexus One
Earlier this week, Google unveiled the "Nexus One", an Android-powered cell phone manufactured by HTC with lots of input from Google.
During the keynote presentation when the phone was unveiled, they showed off a version of Google Earth on the phone, and the app will be available for Android devices soon. While the app looks very similar to the iPhone version, there are some key differences.
The advantages of each:
Nexus One
- Voice Commands: With Google Earth open, tell it where you want it to fly and it'll go there. The video below shows an example of this.
- High resolution: The Nexus One's screen is a touch bigger (3.7" vs. 3.5" on the iPhone), but has much higher resolution -- 800x480 vs. 480x320 on the iPhone, resulting in a much sharper view of the earth.
- Faster Processor: The processor in the Nexus One is quite a bit faster than the processor in the 3GS, which should make the application run more smoothly. However,due to the higher resolution, the application needs to deal with more than double the pixels. Until we can get them side-by-side, it's hard to say which one will run better.
iPhone
- Multi-touch: This is really the only advantage that the iPhone has, but it's a good one. Instead of having to pull various sliders around on the screen, you can just use two fingers to zoom, pan, tilt, etc. Holding the phone sideways and using your thumbs is a great way to do it.
Since the time that video was produced (with Google Earth version 1.0), Google has released version 2.0 of the app with some nice enhancements. Among them is synchronization with your "My Maps". No word on whether or not that feature is included in the Android version.
While it's fun to talk about the small differences in Google Earth on the two platforms, the two versions of Google Maps aren't even close. The Android version is simply amazing, and it's only getting better with the Nexus One. The main difference is that the Android version includes free turn-by-turn navigation. Just hold up the phone, tell it "navigate to xx" and it'll fire up Google Maps, locate your destination and start taking you there! It's very slick. In fact, when Google unveiled it, stock prices of the major GPS navigation companies (Garmin, TomTom, etc) dropped quite sharply.
For more information about Google Maps on Android, check out the latest entry on the Google Lat Long Blog.
Posted by mickmel at 8:37 AM
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January 6, 2010
Frank's Tahina Expedition is now in the Ocean Layer of Google Earth
Frank Taylor has dreamed (and planned) for many years to sail around the world and share it with people by using Google Earth and other tools. He's trying to visit many places he's seen in Google Earth in person. As most of you know, he finally departed late last year on his voyage aboard the Tahina.
He's been faithfully blogging about the adventure, but now even more people can follow his expedition; through the main "layers" menu in Google Earth. Google introduced the "Ocean Expeditions" layer when Google Earth 5.0 came out, and they've been expanding it ever since. Now the Tahina Expedition is part of the layer.
If you open the Ocean layer and then turn on the Ocean Expeditions layer, you'll see a bunch of icons. In the NW Atlantic ocean you'll find a large icon, under which you'll find the "Tahina Expedition". Loading this KML will show placemarks of his various stops, with blog entries and connection lines between each one.
While this makes for a neat way to keep up with Frank's journey, you can even see more Google Earth details, including his GPS tracks, on the Tahina Expedition map page, follow his blog, RSS feed or the @GoTahina Twitter account.
Posted by mickmel at 8:24 AM
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January 5, 2010
Links: Burj Dubai, Historical Imagery Updates, Updated EveryTrail App
Burj Dubai: The tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai Khalifa (Update: renamed after opening), opened to the public yesterday. At over 800 meters tall, it is by far the tallest building on the planet. You can view it in Google Earth (KML) or view it here using the Google Earth Plug-in.
Historical Imagery Update Information: As pointed out by Stefan at Ogle Earth, Google's Imagery Update KML now includes information about previous updates as well.
EveryTrail Update: We've talked about EveryTrail a few times in the past (GE5 tour support, updated layer, etc), as it's a very slick GPS-oriented trip-sharing service. They've just released version 3 of their iPhone app, which has some great additions such as the ability to follow trips on an interactive map, see your current route being drawn on the map, and a lot of sharing capabilities with Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Here's a brief video showing off the new app:
Posted by mickmel at 8:28 AM
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January 4, 2010
Deforestation of the Amazon is uncovering Geoglyphs
700 years ago, for reasons that are still unknown, ancient people sculpted hundreds of geoglyphs in the Amazon. One of the most famous geoglyphs is the Nazca Lines in Peru. Recently, a combination of deforestation and high-resolution satellite imagery is beginning to expose many more of them.
Because of their huge size, geoglyphs are almost impossible to discover from ground level. It's only when you get high in the air can you begin to see the shapes coming together in a pattern. A quote from TreeHugger:
One of the factors that contributed to so many geoglyphs being undetected prior to the aid of satallites is their enormous size. According to leading geoglyph scientist Alceu Ranzi, his latest discoveries -- five sets of geometric shapes, with circles, squares and lines -- can measure more than a mile from one extreme to another.
As Ogle Earth noticed, the TreeHugger article didn't actually point out the exact location of any of the geoglyphs. However, GloboAmazonia found some of them, which you can view below, or download the KML file to view directly in Google Earth.
View Amazon geoglyphs in a larger map
While discovering more of them may help to eventually find out why they were created, further deforestation may be the only way to reveal them. To again quote TreeHugger, " if it takes more clear-cutting in the Amazon rainforest to find out the answer, hopefully it will always remain a mystery."
Posted by mickmel at 8:50 AM
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