3D Models Archives

May 09, 2008

Google Earth 3D Model Friday

Himeji Castle in Google EarthIt's been a while since I highlighted 3D models for viewing in Google Earth on a Friday. The Google 3D Warehouse has continued to evolve over the last two years. They now have an excellent way of sharing cool 3D models called "Collections". Anyone can set up a collection and point to various 3D models already in the warehouse. And, you can rate and comment on the ones you like.

Today I'd like to point out an excellent collection of 3D structures, put together by someone called 'scarpimp', which are UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. Places like the Taj Majal or the Himeji Castle and 50 other UNESCO sites are already in the collection. Many of these buildings are already built in to the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth. Some, like the Himeji Caslte seen in the screenshot are not well optimized, so they aren't in the 3D Buildings layer. You can find the locations of these UNESCO sites more quickly by just viewing the 3D Warehouse collection. Hopefully this collection will inspire 3D modelers to create more of the other 500 or so UNESCO sites.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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April 10, 2008

Links: Viewfinder, KML in the North, GE Pro Address Trick, Boy Finds Home

  • ViewFinder - A project at the University of Southern California (USC) has been published which describes research into ways to improve the way photos can be placed in Google Earth. Last August Google added a new photo capability that lets you place photos as they are taken (completely in 3D including zoom, height, angle, etc.). Once a photo is aligned, you can compare it to the 3D data in Google Earth. They put together a great video showing what this looks like in Google Earth You can read the results of their project at the site. Lucky for them, the New York Times wrote about it, and yesterday Boing Boing as well. Here's the video:

  • KML in the North - John Bailey wrote me to say they are having a Google Earth presentation in Fairbanks on April 23rd. They even have one of the GE team members up to give a talk.

  • GE Pro Address Trick - I didn't know it could do that!

  • Boy Finds Home - The Times of India writes about a young man who was displaced from his home as a young boy, but searches Google Earth to rediscover where he lived.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 09, 2008

Google 3D Warehouse Supporting Street View

The Google 3D Warehouse has recently added a new feature. If you are viewing a 3D model of a building where Street View pictures are available, you get a "tab" at the top which shows the Street View mode for that location. You can move around as with other Street View API applications. There was already a tab for Google Maps views for 3D models which have been tagged on the map. But, this new tab is an excellent example of Google using their own tools in a smart way!

Below is an example of a 3D Warehouse model of shopping center in Boulder, Colorado. If - after you visit the page - you click on the tab at the top called "Street View" you get an interactive panoramic view of the location for that model that looks like this:

Example of 3D Warehouse Street View

Unfortunately, in some cities the Street View photos are limited in their ability to look up and down. So, if it's a tall building you sometimes can't see the upper stories, only the street-level view. For example, look at the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Anyway, kudos to the Google Earth team for "eating their own lunch" and using Street Views for 3D Warehouse!

Posted by FrankTaylor at 04:55 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 20, 2008

Links: Seero GPS Videos, GE Labels, Wikitude POIs, 3D Egyptian Viz

  • Seero GPS Videos - Seero is a new live, on location video site. They have been in beta for a while, but just went live last night. What I find interesting is Seero's ability to not only share location of a video (like the geotagging of YouTube videos), but you can actually play the Video alongside a GPS track and see the changing location on a dynamically updating Google Map mashup. I'm not sure of the utility of live broadcasting for this medium, but they also support playing them back from archives. See the examples by Seero themselves. They tell me they have plans to implement the same playback capability inside Google Earth soon. I'll report on it more when they have it ready.

  • GE Labels -Valery Hrosunov has developed a cool tool for putting fancy labels in Google Earth. Since Google only has limited label capability (only one font), they decided to build something themselves. They use Google Maps for the initial interface, but you generate a KML file when you've got the label the way you want it. The resulting text and icons are an image - so they don't scaled with your view. But, could be quite helpful in presentation files.

  • Wikitude POIs - Wikitude.org allows you to search for places of interest and presents placemarks all from Wikipedia on a Google Maps mashup. But, what makes it really interesting is you also get the option to view a KML file or output the resulting points of interest (POI) to a TomTom GPS. Given the availability of Garmin's easy interface, I'm surprised they don't also offer an option for Garmin. But, since there are tools for taking KML and generating waypoints for Garmin already, that's not a huge problem.

  • 3D Egyptian Viz - I meant to mention an excellent article posted by Stefan Geens about a 3D Google Earth visualization he discovered of Elephantine, one of the most important archeaological sites in Egypt. Definitely worth checking out.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 19, 2008

Sir Arthur C. Clarke - R.I.P.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday in his Sri Lankan home (NY Times obituary). Arthur Clarke was a technological visionary, scuba diver, scientist, science fiction author, and an inspiration to many, many people. Several of his books were an inspiration to me and my dreams about the future. I was fortunate enough to meet him when he came to do his cameo appearance in the movie 2010: Odyssey Two (I believe it was in 1983). He appeared in a scene in Washington, DC in front of the White House. Arthur is feeding pigeons on a park bench in the movie. Arthur came to speak at a conference we were holding in Washington while he was doing the movie.

Some friends of mine got to know Arthur through some of our efforts as space program proponents. On a few occasions I got to speak to Arthur on the phone, once from my apartment in Houston. He was kind enough to let us call him "Uncle Arthur". Arthur often made virtual appearances via satellite video conferences from his home in Sri Lanka. A fitting way for him to communicate since he was the person who first envisioned communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The last time I spoke to him was by satellite video conferencing. I had planned to visit him in Sri Lanka by sailboat in a few years, but I knew there was a chance his failing health would keep it from happening.

In memory of Uncle Arthur, here are a few relevant things to look at in Google Earth:

  • Colombo, Sri Lanka - the city near where Arthur lived for the last 50 years.

  • Space Elevator - One of Arthur's most amazing visions was the concept of a space elevator. Rather than always launching rockets to get into space, why not ride an elevator? He put the concept in the form of a science fiction book called "Fountains of Paradise" where the characters actually build such a system. Here are a couple of articles about space elevator 3D models for Google Earth (first, a crude simple one I did before SketchUp - and another better one by Gerardo).

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey - Someone at the GEC posted a 3D model of the space station from this classic movie which is based on Arthur's book.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

More entries for this category:

  1. Links: SR22 Cockpit, Jane Austen, Magnetic Pole, Taiwan GE Bonanza, Tutorial, VE3D on Mac - March 17, 2008
  2. Super UK Photo Project geograph Turns Three - March 06, 2008
  3. Google Earth 3D Cities Program - March 05, 2008
  4. Oscars in Google Earth (1958 - 2008) - February 27, 2008
  5. See Guys Putting Up Sign on Luxor Hotel & Casino - February 18, 2008
  6. Win a Wii/iPod Touch - Google Earth/SketchUp Contest - February 11, 2008
  7. Links: SpaceNavigator Contest, Excel to KML, Google Geo Talk, Crysis - February 05, 2008
  8. Portugal's Marvão in 3D in Google Earth - January 30, 2008
  9. Westport in Ireland Gets 3D in Google Earth - January 16, 2008
  10. Links: Waldo, Mouse Tricks, Route Builder, touchEarth, Uganda Googles - January 07, 2008
  11. Top 10 New Google Earth Features 2007 - December 31, 2007
  12. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  13. Microsoft Needs to Share Data with Google - December 21, 2007
  14. AGU Fall Meeting - Day 2 Highlights - December 20, 2007
  15. Links: Daily Earth Imagery, Antarctica Photos, Panoramio Searchable, Santa Sleigh - December 18, 2007
  16. 3DWarehouse Enhancements - December 16, 2007
  17. Google Earth and Santa Claus - December 07, 2007
  18. Space Shuttle STS 122 Ascent Profile in Google Earth - December 06, 2007
  19. Large Hadron Collider Visible in Google Earth - November 28, 2007
  20. New Terrain Mode for Google Maps - November 27, 2007
  21. DOE Energy Efficient Buildings in 3D Google Earth - November 09, 2007
  22. Links: Virtual Globes at AGU, Your Town in 3D, MGD Monitor Layer - November 02, 2007
  23. Links: Mac Leopard, Earthquakes, 3D Warehouse, MODIS SuperOverlays - November 01, 2007
  24. Happy Halloween Google Earth - October 31, 2007
  25. It's About Time - KML Articles by Google - October 30, 2007
  26. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
  27. 3D Warehouse Update - Collada Files - October 18, 2007
  28. Microsoft Virtual Earth Supports Basic KML and KML Searching - October 15, 2007
  29. Google to Announce Partnership with Multiverse - October 09, 2007
  30. 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup - October 08, 2007
  31. 3D Warehouse Open to All 3D KML Content - September 25, 2007
  32. 3D Red Bull Flights in Google Earth - September 21, 2007
  33. News Roundup: Poles Overlays, Rocket Garden, Army Topos, Astronomy, Roads - September 20, 2007
  34. 3D Buildings - Groningen, Netherlands - September 14, 2007
  35. 3D Model Roundup: Floorplan Star Trek, Bouncing Earths - September 12, 2007
  36. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
  37. Flight Simulator HUD Display Guide, and an Advanced Tip - September 06, 2007
  38. News Roundup: Flight Simulator Goodies, PhotoViewer Stuff, Video tourism - September 04, 2007
  39. Google Earth Flight Simulator Tips - September 03, 2007
  40. Google Earth Sky 3D Animation - Han Solo Escapes - August 31, 2007
  41. News Roundup: Peru Earthquake, Virtual Earth Update, Stefan's Alps Hike - August 16, 2007
  42. Chile 3D Campus Models Ready for Contest - August 15, 2007
  43. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 08, 2007
  44. Sailing with Google Earth for Navigation - August 06, 2007
  45. News Roundup - Microsoft and KML, Minnesota Bridge, New Competition, and more - August 05, 2007
  46. Panorama of 3D Denver from Google Earth - August 04, 2007
  47. TwitterVision for Google 3D WareHouse - Home Page Changes - August 03, 2007
  48. Rising Water Effects for Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro - July 31, 2007
  49. Google SketchUp for Dummies Book Out - July 27, 2007
  50. Blues Brothers Bridge Jump Animation in Google Earth - July 24, 2007
  51. Blues Brothers Bridge Jump in Google Earth - July 22, 2007
  52. European Campuses Want a 3D Contest Too - July 20, 2007
  53. 3D Campus Winners Now in 3D Buildings Layer - July 18, 2007
  54. Solar System Moons in Google Earth - July 15, 2007
  55. Winners of 3D Campus Competition Announced - July 11, 2007
  56. 3D Dresden in Google Earth - July 09, 2007
  57. New Seven Wonders of the World in Google Earth - July 08, 2007
  58. New Blog for 3D WareHouse Buildings - June 29, 2007
  59. Google Earth Sky - Part II - June 25, 2007
  60. How to Add a Sky to Google Earth - June 24, 2007
  61. Taipei 3D Models for Google Earth - June 21, 2007
  62. Best of 3D Warehouse - Blue Ribbon - June 19, 2007
  63. Gallery Update - June 18, 2007
  64. News RoundUp: Football Game, VesselTracker, Antarctic Bases, Egyptian Digs, 3D Cities Help, Chimps, Gallery - June 12, 2007
  65. London Eye Animation with Shadows for Google Earth - June 11, 2007
  66. Coverage Area for US 10m Terrain in Google Earth - June 09, 2007
  67. Monthly Cloud Animations for Google Earth - June 07, 2007
  68. Google Earth More Realistic with Better Terrain - June 06, 2007
  69. Google Releases High Resolution Terrain - Western US and Canaries - June 02, 2007
  70. Mini-News Roundup: SpaceNavigator Drawing, New York in 3D - May 29, 2007
  71. Off to Where 2.0 in San Jose - May 28, 2007
  72. Virtual Earth 3D Comparisons with Google Earth - May 20, 2007
  73. Google Licensing Automated 3D Building Generator - May 19, 2007
  74. New Google Earth Layers Update: Amsterdam 3D, Forest Service, Taiwan Roads - May 17, 2007
  75. Entire City of Amsterdam Gets 3D "Gray" Buildings in Google Earth - May 16, 2007
  76. Giant Building Found in Google Earth - May 11, 2007
  77. Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D - Video Demos - May 09, 2007
  78. News Roundup - Taj Majal in 3D, KML as Open Standard, Katrina Imagery, New AIA150 Tour - May 08, 2007
  79. French Presidential Election Results in Google Earth - May 6th - May 07, 2007
  80. 3D Warehouse Map Mashup for Collections - May 04, 2007
  81. Globe Glider Video Demonstration - May 02, 2007
  82. See the Googleplex Solar Panel Plan in 3D - May 01, 2007
  83. Video Demo of New American Architecture 3D Layer for Google Earth - April 25, 2007
  84. Most Popular American Architecture in 3D Google Earth by AIA and Google - April 24, 2007
  85. Spider-Man 3 - 3D Models for Google Earth - April 23, 2007
  86. Continuous Flow of New 3D Buildings - April 17, 2007
  87. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
  88. SketchUp Training DVD Available - April 06, 2007
  89. 3D Roundup: King Tut, Grand Canyon Skywalk, Google Solar Panels - April 04, 2007
  90. News Roundup: Amsterdam Google GeoDay, Google LitTrips, US Capitol - March 30, 2007
  91. Google Earth in Second Life: GeoGlobe - March 28, 2007
  92. Traditional Advertising Gets Boost in 3D Google Earth - March 27, 2007
  93. Unique Sightseeing Roundup: Not So Green, Whale Spotting, Frank Lloyd Wright - March 23, 2007
  94. 4D London Eye in Google Earth - March 21, 2007
  95. Google Highlights New Layers - March 13, 2007
  96. YouTube Demo of Berlin in 3D for Google Earth - March 09, 2007
  97. Berlin in 3D Released for Google Earth - March 08, 2007
  98. Swiss Alps "Fighter" Tour in Google Earth - March 01, 2007
  99. Third Party Billboard Advertising in Google Earth - February 28, 2007
  100. New Video Demos of Latest 3D Buildings for Google Earth - February 26, 2007
  101. New 3D Buildings in Las Vegas - February 23, 2007
  102. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
  103. Google Earth Tutorials - Making 3D Poloygons, GE Pro Movie Making - February 21, 2007
  104. More Details on New Layers/Updates - February 18, 2007
  105. Virtual Earth 3D Buildings vs. Google Earth - February 16, 2007
  106. 3D Video Inside Google Earth - February 07, 2007
  107. Abu Simbel Statues of Pharaoh Ramsses in 3D in Google Earth - February 02, 2007
  108. Video Tutorials for SketchUp to Google Earth - January 30, 2007
  109. Build Your Campus in 3D for Google Earth Contest - January 25, 2007
  110. Google Earth Save Image Option - January 23, 2007
  111. Track Cruise Ships in 3D in Google Earth - January 22, 2007
  112. News Roundup - KML 2.1 Docs, New Blue Marble from NASA, more Panoramas - January 19, 2007
  113. Boulder, Colorado 3D Buildings in Google Earth, and a Google 3D Contest - January 18, 2007
  114. Hamburg 3D Buildings Coming to Google Earth - January 17, 2007
  115. PanoViewer - Viewing Panorama Photos in Google Earth - January 15, 2007
  116. News Roundup - KML indexing, GPS tools, SketchUp PhotoMatch Tutorial, GE Blogs - January 13, 2007
  117. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
  118. Awesome 3D Buildings of Denver in Google Earth - January 09, 2007
  119. Google Releases New 3D Buildings Layer for Google Earth - January 07, 2007
  120. Black Pearl in 3D in Google Earth - January 04, 2007
  121. 3D Toy Animations in Google Earth, Happy Holidays! - December 22, 2006
  122. Top 10 Time Animations from 2006 in Google Earth - December 20, 2006
  123. Interesting Satellite Visualizations for Google Earth - December 15, 2006
  124. Santa's Toy Hunt and Santa Tracker in Google Earth - December 13, 2006
  125. Turning Torso 3D Building - December 12, 2006
  126. Shipwreck - A Historical Documentary Including 3D in Google Earth - December 08, 2006
  127. Hong Kong in 3D in Google Earth - December 01, 2006
  128. YouTube Demo of SpaceNavigator with Google Earth - November 28, 2006
  129. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
  130. New Google Earth Imagery and Terrain Data for Thanksgiving - Thanks! - November 23, 2006
  131. Animating 3D Models - New Examples - November 20, 2006
  132. Baseball, 3D Stadiums, Videos, and Google Earth - November 02, 2006
  133. News Roundup - Animated 3D, EmerGeo, Altered Oceans, Virtual Airlines - October 29, 2006
  134. Earth's Largest Halloween Decoration - October 27, 2006
  135. Google Pushed Out Terrain Fixes Today - October 26, 2006
  136. Cruise Ship Goes Off the Edge of the Earth - October 24, 2006
  137. Flight of Space Ship One Depicted in Google Earth - October 12, 2006
  138. Wirefly X Prize Cup Event in 3D - October 11, 2006
  139. Animation of London Building Growth in Google Earth - Cool! - October 08, 2006
  140. Take Flight Sim Scenery and Port it to Google Earth - September 28, 2006
  141. High Quality 3D Building Models for Google Earth - September 22, 2006
  142. Anousheh Ansari Blasts off to Space - September 18, 2006
  143. Google Earth as a "Flight Simulator" - September 15, 2006
  144. 3D Buildings in Cities All Over Japan in Google Earth - September 13, 2006
  145. September 11th Remembered in 3D in Google Earth - September 11, 2006
  146. French Yellowpages 3D Application - September 08, 2006
  147. News Roundup - RoboGeo, PhotoModeler, Trippermap, EditGrid - September 05, 2006
  148. Global Clouds with Altitude for GE 4 - September 03, 2006
  149. 3D 747 Airliner on Approach at Maho Beach in Google Earth - August 25, 2006
  150. 3D Buildings for a Part of London in Google Earth - August 23, 2006
  151. 3D Luxor Hotel in Google Earth - August 22, 2006
  152. Make a 3D Building in Google Earth Using Paper Drawing - August 18, 2006
  153. World's Largest Cosmic Ray Detector Shown in Google Earth - August 16, 2006
  154. Campus Maps with 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 14, 2006
  155. Star Trek 3D Model Contest with Google Earth - August 11, 2006
  156. Goggles - Google Maps Flight Simulator, Also: Google Earth Flying - August 08, 2006
  157. Bariloche, Argentina - August 07, 2006
  158. News Roundup - New GE Book, GE and Science, 3D Model, GIS Day, Another Chance - August 02, 2006
  159. Google Saturn - July 30, 2006
  160. Lava Flows in Google Earth - July 27, 2006
  161. Vancouver in 3D for Google Earth - July 21, 2006
  162. Battleship Google Earth - July 19, 2006
  163. San Francisco Downtown Area and King's College Chapel - June 29, 2006
  164. 3D Buildings with Textures in Google Earth - June 23, 2006
  165. Google Does Shakespeare - Google Earth Files Available - June 22, 2006
  166. King Tut's Tomb Enhanced for Google Earth V4 - June 16, 2006
  167. Google Earth V4 Supports Collada - Open Standard for 3D Models - June 14, 2006
  168. Google Earth 4 - Textured 3D models, New SketchUp for Mac and Windows - June 13, 2006
  169. Cape Town 3D Buildings in Color in Google Earth - June 07, 2006
  170. FCC Data Visualization in Google Earth - June 06, 2006
  171. Weekend Sightseeing and 3D Models - June 02, 2006
  172. Great Pyramid of Giza in 3D - May 29, 2006
  173. Cape Wind Project in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
  174. MI6 Headquarters in 3D for Google Earth - May 19, 2006
  175. Laval University Campus in Google Earth - May 16, 2006
  176. The Tomb of Tutankhamon in Google Earth - May 14, 2006
  177. 3D Prints from Google Earth - May 12, 2006
  178. Feature Request: 3D Video in Google Earth - May 11, 2006
  179. Retouching Google Earth for Realism - May 09, 2006
  180. Awesome Unisphere 3D Model for Google Earth - May 06, 2006
  181. 3D Model Roundup for Google Earth - May 05, 2006
  182. Chernobyl Radiation Visualization in Google Earth - April 29, 2006
  183. Mission Impossible III Promotion with Google Earth - April 28, 2006
  184. Google Makes SketchUp Free! - April 27, 2006
  185. Space Elevator in Google Earth - April 17, 2006
  186. 3D Modeling News and Roundup - April 13, 2006
  187. Experimenting with New York Skyline in Google Earth - April 09, 2006
  188. 3D Models for the Weekend - April 07, 2006
  189. USGS Releases Awesome 1906 Earthquake Documentary Using Google Earth - April 06, 2006
  190. 1666 London Map, Cool 3D Buildings Movie - April 05, 2006
  191. 3D - Panama Canal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and more - March 26, 2006
  192. A Few 3D Buildings for Bemidji, Seoul, Torino, and Moscow - March 21, 2006
  193. 3D Models Proliferate for Google Earth - March 16, 2006
  194. Google Just Bought Makers of SketchUp - March 14, 2006
  195. Robots Attack New York City - March 10, 2006
  196. Buenos Aires in 3D with Street Maps - March 09, 2006
  197. Architectural Delights - March 07, 2006
  198. 3D Buildings for the Weekend - March 03, 2006
  199. Street-Level Driving in Google Earth - March 01, 2006
  200. Windfarm Proposal as Geography Lesson - February 27, 2006
  201. The Skylon in Google Earth - February 23, 2006
  202. Cheney Shooting in Google Earth - February 21, 2006
  203. Nice Collection of 3D Buildings for Google Earth - February 17, 2006
  204. Convert Maya 2 Google Earth - February 16, 2006
  205. Trimensions 3D Photogrammetry in Google Earth - February 13, 2006
  206. Visualizing Controversial New Buildings in New York in Google Earth - February 06, 2006
  207. London Fitzroy Square in 3D in Google Earth - February 02, 2006
  208. High Resolution 3D Eiffel Tower for Google Earth - January 20, 2006
  209. 3D Planes for Flight Tracking in Google Earth - January 19, 2006
  210. 3D Buildings in London in Google Earth - January 17, 2006
  211. 40 Highest Buildings in Rotterdam for Google Earth - December 05, 2005
  212. Dynamic Clock - Big Ben - September 16, 2005
  213. Popular 3D Structures - September 06, 2005
  214. City of Portland GIS Adds 3D Buildings - September 03, 2005
  215. Play Tour (aka Fly Mode) - August 25, 2005
  216. Most Popular GE Files - August 24, 2005
  217. 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 23, 2005
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