GPS Archives

November 3, 2009

Links: Seero for sale, i-gotU GPS logger review, Best of Building Maker expands

Seero For Sale: We've talked about Seero a few times in the past. They offer live video with GPS and did some cool stuff with Where 2.0 2008. Recently, the Seero team decided to sell the site (eBay auction) and all assets so they can focus on other projects. The site would be a serious investment, with a starting bid close to $50K. A good example of Seero's capability can be seen in this Steve McQueen video.

i-gotU GPS: The folks at @trip have a nifty new GPS device to help you put your activity into Google Earth. I've been playing with it for a few days and I tend to agree with them -- it's a great little device. It's tiny, waterproof and can be used for 80 hours non-stop; quite impressive!

The only big problem I had with it is that it's not very compatible with Windows 7. My primary desktop and my primary laptop are Windows 7, and my netbook doesn't have a CD drive. That meant I had to dig out my old XP laptop and fire it up. To their credit, it worked reasonably well on there. However, they need to solve the insane Windows 7 directions as quickly as possible. As neat as the device is, having to boot Windows in a special manner each time just to use the device is a bit too much. Also, there is no Mac version of the software available; they simply recommend Windows 2000, XP or Vista.

If you have a computer that can handle it, the cost isn't too bad (under $100 for both models) and would probably be excellent if you do a lot of travel and/or hiking. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know when they finally release decent software for Windows 7 and/or Mac. In the meantime, I'd hold off on this purchase unless you have an older Windows machine with no intention of upgrading to Win 7. Here's a short sample video from their site to show what a track looks like:

Best of Building Maker: We've mentioned this collection before, but felt it was worth showing off again. With all of the Building Maker models that are arriving in Google Earth, the Best of Building Maker collection is a great way to see some of the best. None of my models have made it in there -- have yours?

Posted by mickmel at 9:16 AM | Comments (6)

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October 9, 2009

Links: Load KMZ files on handheld Garmin devices, video of NASA rocket crashing into the moon

Garmin has quietly released a pretty cool beta update for some of their devices; the Colorado, Oregon and Dakota, specifically. This update allows users to create image overlays in Google Earth, then load the resulting KMZ file on their device. Once loaded, the overlay will simply appear as part of the map when they view that area.

The instructions are pretty straightforward for anyone that has built an image overlay before. Simply build the overlay, save it your PC, and upload it to your device. It looks quite slick. Hopefully more devices and services will start supporting the KML/KMZ format, making the datasets in Google Earth even more useful.

Rich and Scott have both posted blog entries with tips on doing this with your Garmin. Rich covers some best practices for creating these maps to keep redraws to a minimum, while Scott gives a step-by-step walkthrough, along with a resolution chart to keep things looking sharp on your device. (via SlashGeo)

Also today, as you may have heard, NASA intentionally crashed a segment of a rocket into the moon to study the impact. Keir has built a simple page that lets you browse the moon, the Cabeus Crater where the impact occured, and view a video of the impact as an overlay on top of the moon.

You can read more about the mission on the NASA website, or view the video below for a raw look at the impact:

Posted by mickmel at 3:45 PM | Comments (1)

May 13, 2009

News - Sky makes it to Android, Greece Halts Street View

• Sky Goes Android - the Google Earth Sky application, which started out as an inside-out version of Google Earth to view the night sky, was first ported to Google Maps over a year ago. Now, Google has ported the app and data over to the Android mobile platform. Using position sensing and built-in compass feature of Android phones, the Android version of Sky can tell which part of the sky you're pointing at and show the sky map for that area. Sounds cool! I hope to see one next week when I go to California for Where 2.0.

• Greece Halts Street View - I've had several reports the past few months from excited folks in Greece seeing Google cars shooting Street View. Now their government has decided to halt Street View shooting until they decide whether it is a good thing for their citizens (wow, those guys must be really powerful to stop Google! *snicker*). via Cnet

Posted by FrankTaylor at 6:18 AM | Comments (4)

May 8, 2009

Current Positions of 10,000+ Ships World-wide in Google Earth

In the past few years, commercial shipping vessels have been required to broadcast a vessel position "transponder" similar to those used by aircraft. The system used is called AIS (Automatic Identification System) and uses GPS for position data, but also broadcasts other important data such as ship name, course, speed, and more. The system allows vessels at sea to have a much better awareness of other ships and, in particular, helps avoid the potential of collisions as the seas get increasingly more crowded (especially in ports).

Some academic researchers have been running a web site called MarineTraffic.com that shows the positions of ships around many ports around the world. They rely on a community of data collectors who simply need an AIS receiver and an Internet connection to provide data on ship positions for a given port. A number of similar sites have offered such data on the Internet before (for example, I mentioned VesselTracker.com a couple of years ago). Some of the vessel position report sites are only available on a subscription basis. But, MarineTraffic.com is the largest collection of data I've seen and its available for free.

The current MarineTraffic map shows over 10,000 ships. The positions of the ships may be up to 1 hour old, but are otherwise near real-time. Their primary interface is Google Maps which lets you zoom in to see more detail, but only shows a summary of the position data when zoomed out. Clicking on a region zooms you in to show the vessel positions (and headings). Clicking on a ship placemark can give you all kinds of interesting information including a picture of the ship (if they have it), speed, vessel type, size, draft, destination and more (the amount of data varies per ship).

They also have a Google Earth file that lets you view the entire dataset of vessels at once. Google Earth is better able to handle over 10,000 position placemarks at once - so you can actually view the entire data set. Also, with the Google Earth version you will see a link in the placemark that will let you see the recent GPS track of the vessel so you can see part of the route it took to get to its current position.

Even Google Earth can get slowed down some by this many placemarks. The developers could use some KML tools to improve its efficiency. For example, by de-cluttering the number placemarks when zoomed higher. Read the MarineTraffic.com FAQ for more information on their data, research, maps, and AIS.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 10:14 AM | Comments (10)

April 13, 2009

Visualizing GPS Tracks for Trips with GE Plugin

Last week I noticed an interesting application of the Google Earth plugin for playing back a GPS track with photos on a travel site called @trip (www.a-trip.com). @trip, like many GPS track travel sites, lets you upload your GPS track and photos. They also have software available for download to geotag your photos and organize your journey log for viewing on the site. I didn't download the software, but it appears to be free and is made by the same company called Mobile Application Technology based in Taiwan.

What I found interesting is that @trip actually developed a playback mechanism very similar to the new Tour mode for GE, but by using the GE API. You can see an example by visiting one of the trip pages at @trip, and clicking on the 3D option buttons on the right. This will load the GE Plugin application which uses a 3D car as your point of reference in the 3D scene for playback - which automatically points in the direction of your travels. They have their own set of controls for playback that includes speeding and slowing down the playback. You can adjust your view with the mouse and your camera stays pointed in the new position. It's well done, and accomplishes the task. I only found myself wondering if you could select different objects (instead of the car) for different modes of transportation (boat, person hiking, plane, etc.).

Shortly after Google released GE 5, popular GPS travel journal site EveryTrail released support for the GE Tour playback by generating a Tour KMZ file you can view in GE (the plugin didn't support Tours until earlier this month). Maybe EveryTrail will support the plugin now that they can playback these Tours.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:40 AM | Comments (1)

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More entries for this category:

6. Heli-Ski Tour in Google Earth - March 12, 2009
7. Google Earth 5 Tour Roundup - February 26, 2009
8. Rowing Around the World with Google Earth - February 11, 2009
9. EveryTrail Supports New Tours for Google Earth 5 - February 3, 2009
10. Google Earth 5 Released - 3D Ocean and More! - February 2, 2009
11. Urban Tick - Research Results in Google Earth - January 8, 2009
12. Upgrade to EveryTrail GPS Trails Layer in Google Earth - December 17, 2008
13. Links: GE Plugin Update, KML Contest Update, Panoramio Contest, Teaching with GE, Santa Video - December 5, 2008
14. The Boat Story Continues - Boatyard, Name, Moving - September 21, 2008
15. Update on Using GPS for Tracking in Google Earth - September 19, 2008
16. More Add-ons for Google Earth Flight Simulator - July 28, 2008
17. Links: Walking, Havana, Eclipse, Oil, Follow the Boat - July 23, 2008
18. Clipper Yacht Race in Google Earth - June 1, 2008
19. Links: New StreetView Stuff, WorldWide Telescope, Yahoo WOE, Dishpointer, GPSAnimator - May 13, 2008
20. Google Earth for Pilots - April 29, 2008
21. New Contour Lines in Google Maps - April 3, 2008
22. Deer Blogs His Own GPS Position in Google Earth - March 17, 2008
23. Wikiloc - GPS Tracks Site - February 11, 2008
24. Real-Time Google Earth GPS Tracking - via Bus - February 2, 2008
25. Guys Fly Balloon to 30 km Altitude - See it in Google Earth - January 25, 2008
26. Top 10 New Google Earth Features 2007 - December 31, 2007
27. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
28. Links: Santa Tracker, Santa Mapper Poem, VE Followup, GPS Spider - December 26, 2007
29. Links: Maps Terrain in GE, GPS Trip Planning, Geo Lessons, and more - December 11, 2007
30. Links: Google at the Pump, Sigdoarjo Mud Flow, Boxing Champs, California Fire Costs, New Trees - November 9, 2007
31. Trip Status, Links: PhotoOverlay tool, CIA World Factbook, Another BMNG - October 29, 2007
32. Links: Chinese Cop Catches Crook, Malibu Fire, EveryTrail Update, CIA WorldFactbook, Hungary Weather - October 22, 2007
33. 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup - October 8, 2007
34. News Roundup: UFO Sightings, Free UK GE workshops, Godwit migrations, Boating videos - September 21, 2007
35. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
36. News Roundup: Peru Earthquake, Virtual Earth Update, Stefan's Alps Hike - August 16, 2007
37. Sailing with Google Earth for Navigation - August 6, 2007
38. India Maps - Local Knowledge Power - July 24, 2007
39. TakItWithMe - Handy GPS Tool - July 17, 2007
40. News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth - June 20, 2007
41. Google Earth Helping Amazon Indians - June 19, 2007
42. Photo Finding in Google Earth - Just for Fun - June 15, 2007
43. News Roundup - France Censors, Flickr, Seabeds, Live tracking - June 4, 2007
44. Watch Weekend Boating Live in Google Earth - May 18, 2007
45. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
46. News Roundup - Nokia N95, gCensus US, Greensburg Radar Animation - May 14, 2007
47. Having Fun with Google Earth and SpaceNavigator - May 10, 2007
48. News Roundup 2 - Science Visualization, Netherlands GIS, Flu Map, Nokia SportsTracker - May 6, 2007
49. News Roundup: My Maps/YouTube, Nokia N95, Census, Arc2Earth, Show-n-Tell - April 13, 2007
50. New Google Earth Layers for April: Darfur, Trimble, and more - April 9, 2007
51. 677 US Marine Charts for Google Earth on 1 CD - March 31, 2007
52. News Roundup - Version stats, KML Editors, GooPs, Hey What's That? - March 15, 2007
53. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
54. More Details on New Layers/Updates - February 18, 2007
55. News Roundup - FreeGeoTools, Sprol, Subsurface, conferences, Magnalox - February 12, 2007
56. News Roundup - KML indexing, GPS tools, SketchUp PhotoMatch Tutorial, GE Blogs - January 13, 2007
57. Using GPS in Real-time with Google Earth - January 2, 2007
58. Explosion of GPS mapping tools and web sites - December 7, 2006
59. Route du Rhum - Live Sailing Race in Google Earth - November 1, 2006
60. Google Earth Googlers in Moab Mountain Bike Race - October 5, 2006
61. More Innovative Time Animation Examples for Google Earth - September 19, 2006
62. GPSVisualizer Supports New Google Earth 4 Time Support - September 15, 2006
63. My Backpacking Trip and the Lost Couple Found After Three Days - July 24, 2006
64. Trackstick - Small USB-stick GPS with Google Earth Support - July 18, 2006
65. Unicycling for College Money - Track Max in Google Earth - May 28, 2006
66. Accomodation Planning for Norway in Google Earth - May 17, 2006
67. Juicy Geography Lesson on GPS - May 3, 2006
68. Where's Tim? Tracking Tim in Google Earth - May 1, 2006
69. Go Flying - Flight Tracklogs for Google Earth - April 30, 2006
70. GPS-Tour.info - A Resource of GPS Tracks for Google Earth - April 21, 2006
71. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 4, 2006
72. Ski Snowbird - April 2, 2006
73. Sking Alta Shown in Google Earth - March 28, 2006
74. European Speed Cameras in Google Earth - March 21, 2006
75. Touch and Gos - February 22, 2006
76. Emotion Map in Google Earth - February 21, 2006
77. Panoramio - Photos of the World - January 31, 2006
78. Enhancement to GPSVisualizer for Google Earth - January 23, 2006
79. 3D Planes for Flight Tracking in Google Earth - January 19, 2006
80. Transatlantic Sailing Adventure Using Google Earth - January 18, 2006
81. Off Road Races in Dakar and Baja - January 9, 2006
82. Google Earth for Cars - January 7, 2006
83. Santa's Route in Google Earth - December 21, 2005
84. 40 Highest Buildings in Rotterdam for Google Earth - December 5, 2005
85. Near Real-time Flight Tracking in Google Earth - December 2, 2005
86. Transat Jacques Vabre 2005 Race in Google Earth - November 16, 2005
87. GPSVisualizer Supports Google Earth - November 15, 2005
88. And They're Off! - November 13, 2005
89. Volvo Ocean Race in Google Earth - November 11, 2005
90. Another Sailor Documents Trips Using Google Earth - November 9, 2005
91. Geocaching.com Uses Random Approximate Coordinates in Google Earth - November 1, 2005
92. GPS/Photo Tracks - RoboGEO v2.1 Supports Google Earth - October 31, 2005
93. Geocaching.com Officially Supports Google Earth - October 22, 2005
94. Magnalox - GPS Story Telling for Google Earth - October 19, 2005
95. Huge Resource of 3D Glider Tracks for Google Earth - October 12, 2005
96. Documenting a Recent Flying Trip - October 9, 2005
97. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 4, 2005
98. Middle Earth Found in Google Earth - September 28, 2005
99. Watching Sports with Google Earth - September 27, 2005
100. Garmin Supports Google Earth - September 26, 2005
101. Owners of Geocaching.com Stifle Innovation - September 24, 2005
102. Sailing the Seven Seas - September 10, 2005
103. Geocaching Google Earth - August 15, 2005
104. Arizona Hiking Trip - August 10, 2005
105. Flying - Keeping a Flight Log - August 5, 2005

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