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June 30, 2009

NASA Doing Robotic Recon with Google Earth

NASA K10 RobotNASA is conducting research from their Ames Research Center in California with a robot called "K10", located in northern Arizona, to simulate tele-operations for exploring the moon. They are using Google Earth extensively for both planning, visualization, and operations. In other words, Google Earth is a visualization tool for telepresence. NASA uses a black and white higher res image of their target area overlayed in GE (maybe the black and white makes it look more like the moon?). They look at the imagery to determine reconnaissance objectives and plan routes. They have developed a planning tool that works interactively with Google Earth (using network links and overlays) to develop and assign tasks for the robot and put placemarks and routes on the map. Then the task plans are sent to the robot. The robot sends back photos to NASA which are also placed in placemarks in Google Earth, and a track of the robots path is also updated continously. You can read more details and see more screenshots at the Robotic Recon web site. I'd like to get my hands on a sample KML file to see what it looks like. There is a large team of engineers involved in the Robotic Recon project, including folks from different NASA centers and several universities. And, the Robotic Recon blog shows lots of screenshots of Google Earth in use.

NASA Robotic Recon with Google Earth

By the way, this story is particularly interesting to me because more than 15 years ago I developed similar tele-presence simulation software at NASA Johnson Space Center to visualize remote-operations over the Internet using a Silicon Graphics workstations. I developed the 3D software for the visualization parts, and the Internet client/server communications. In 1992, while at International Space University in Japan, I used a workstation to control a robot arm NASA had back in Houston over an Internet connection using a crude frame-grab camera (single-frame webcam) to verify position. This is so déjà vu! Part of the reason I was instantly attracted to Google Earth when it first came out, was its similarity to the software I had written. Full circle.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 8:10 AM | Comments (0)

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June 26, 2009

Links: Michael Jackson Neverland, Amnesty International, New Placenames, GE Outreach

  • Michael Jackson Neverland - Yesterday the King of Pop passed away. People will remember him in many ways, but mostly for his amazing musical and performance talents. Google Sightseeing recalled their post about Michael's Neverland Ranch and updated it with new information. You can see the Neverland Ranch in Google Earth here .

  • Amnesty International - Sri Lanka War - Thanks to some help from Stefan Geens of OgleEarth, Amnesty International has produced an excellent Google Earth file which highlights the aftermath of the Sri Lankan War. The file includes more updated aerial imagery, and many placemarks providing details to the human and physical costs to the war. Stefan has more details about the project at his blog.

  • New Multi-lingual Placenames - Google has proudly announced improvements to their database of populated places names. This way you can see names in the local language for places, or in the language of your choice used by Google Earth. By default, you'll see both local and your language. In the English version of Google Earth, the names are found under the "Borders and Labels" layer folder. The normal placenames in your language are under Populated Places, and the local language placenames are under Alternative Place Names. Part of the data has come from the Google Map Maker project where people anywhere can contribute map information. They even have names in unusual scripts as well - like Chinese, Arabic, etc. I love the new data, but the naming of the layers is a little strange and somewhat confusing. How about: "Local Placenames", "English Placenames" (replacing "English" with your language)? Also, I still really miss the cool feature the placenames used to have that when you clicked on the label it gave your three links to automatically search Google for that place, images from Google Images, and news from Google News. Google: please bring that back!

  • GE Outreach Birthday - Today is the second anniversary of Google announcing their Google Earth Outreach program (see GEB post of the 2007 announcement). I'm expecting Google will roll out a few layers today from Outreach.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:00 AM | Comments (1)

May 26, 2009

Google MapMaker - 64 New Countries Google Maps and Google Earth

Google announced today the release of 64 new countries with map data thanks to the efforts of hundreds of people around the world contributing map data for countries which until now had little or no map data online. Last year, Google released Google Map Maker to make it easier for people to contribute, and moderate, the introduction of map data which would ultimately be included in Google Maps and Google Earth. One thing the announcement didn't say is that the new road data is not only visible in Google Maps, but also Google Earth (if you turn on the Roads layer). Other data in the maps (points of interest marks in the new maps such as schools, museums, etc. - don't appear to have been moved to the Google Earth "Places of Interest" layer yet). Here's the list of 64 countries with new roads in Google Earth:

American Samoa, Anguilla, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Malawi, Martinique, Mauritania, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Reunion, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Wallis and Futuna, Zambia.

Don't forget to try other cool layers in Google Earth such as Street View, Geographic Web, and really cool stuff under the Gallery layer folder.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 8:53 PM | Comments (6)

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.

Marine Traffic vessel positions in Google Earth

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 (9)

February 11, 2009

Rowing Around the World with Google Earth

Oliver Hicks track in Google EarthGoogle posted yesterday about a guy who is attempting to be the first to row around the world. Oliver Hicks has left his home country of Australia and will be headed down toward Antarctica and attempt his circumnavigation the short, but very hostile, route. His attempt is sponsored prominently by Virgin, and Google is involved because Olly will be using Google products. He is connected to the Internet and able to share his experiences along the way. You can follow his track in Google Earth (a GPS track shows his route, you'll notice he doesn't always go forwards since he can't always overcome currents and winds). It's certainly an admirable goal, and I hope he succeeds.

I am especially interested in Olly's adventure since later this year, my wife and I are also embarking on a circumnavigation. Our attempt will be in a much more comfortable mode of transportation - by sailboat. We plan to make heavy use of Google products as well, and, not surprisingly, in particular Google Earth. We plan to show how to leverage Google Earth to plan our trip, and document our adventures in a unique fashion. And we hope to help raise awareness of some of the issues facing our oceans and sea life. We will not only have GPS tracks, but also a wide range of photography and placemarks documenting our planned five year journey. Google will also be involved in our trip by making use of the Google Earth content we will create. It's cool to see Google is such a big supporter of ocean-going adventures, especially after announcing Google Earth 5's new ocean-oriented content.

Picture of our sailing catamaran Tahina

Posted by FrankTaylor at 9:25 AM | Comments (2)


More entries for this category:

  1. News: Gibraltar Terrain, Earth Surfer Code, Naval Observatory, Dutch Geography Animation, Earthpoint, Eclipse - January 27, 2009
  2. New View of Ocean Floor in Google Earth - January 17, 2009
  3. Urban Tick - Research Results in Google Earth - January 8, 2009
  4. Links: Santa Tracker Popular, Volvo Ocean Race, Lost World Discovered, Cold War KML - December 26, 2008
  5. Watch Santa Claus Make his Deliveries - December 24, 2008
  6. Vendee Globe in Google Earth - December 2, 2008
  7. Norad Tracks Santa 2008 - With Google's Help - November 30, 2008
  8. Links: Location OS, GeoEye, Super Tour Mashup - November 10, 2008
  9. Google Street View Italy Released - October 29th - October 30, 2008
  10. Links: Planet Search, Interactive KML, FlightSim, iPhone GPS - October 21, 2008
  11. More Street View Imagery for France in Google Earth/Maps - October 14, 2008
  12. Links: Panoramio Heat Maps, See Russia?, 1m LiDAR, Airship - October 13, 2008
  13. Fire Hydrants in Google Earth - September 29, 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. WikiLoc Now A Google Earth Layer - August 28, 2008
  17. Sailing Passage From Exuma to North Carolina - August 25, 2008
  18. Circumnavigation: The Boat - Part I - August 24, 2008
  19. 3D Driving Directions and Driving Simulator - August 12, 2008
  20. New Layers and Photos for Google Earth - August 7, 2008
  21. Links: Joshua Slocum, Chemical Brothers, Other Links - August 6, 2008
  22. Follow a Book, Check Aeronautical Charts in Google Earth Plugin - July 31, 2008
  23. More Add-ons for Google Earth Flight Simulator - July 28, 2008
  24. Links: Walking, Havana, Eclipse, Oil, Follow the Boat - July 23, 2008
  25. Notes from the Bahamas: GE in Education, AGE More KML, Disney 3D - June 26, 2008
  26. Google Releases More Map Crowdsourcing Tools - June 24, 2008
  27. Links: New StreetView Stuff, WorldWide Telescope, Yahoo WOE, Dishpointer, GPSAnimator - May 13, 2008
  28. New Rumsey Historical Maps for Google Earth - May 12, 2008
  29. Links: NBA Destination, EarthNC 2.0, Geo Education - May 7, 2008
  30. Rumor-mill: Google Ocean in the Works - April 30, 2008
  31. Google Earth for Pilots - April 29, 2008
  32. Links: Science Uses, Compass, GM vs VE, Healthy Planet, and more - April 28, 2008
  33. How to Get 3D Buildings in Google Earth 4.3 Flight Simulator - April 24, 2008
  34. New Contour Lines in Google Maps - April 3, 2008
  35. Iditarod 2008 Dog Sled Race Live in Google Earth - March 10, 2008
  36. Live Orbit Tracker in Google Earth - March 3, 2008
  37. Links: SpaceNavigator Contest, Excel to KML, Google Geo Talk, Crysis - February 5, 2008
  38. Real-Time Google Earth GPS Tracking - via Bus - February 2, 2008
  39. Wrong Turn Down Google StreetView - January 27, 2008
  40. New Layer Goodness for Google Earth - January 2008 - January 25, 2008
  41. Navigation Gadget Tricks with Google Earth 4 - January 8, 2008
  42. Top 10 New Google Earth Features 2007 - December 31, 2007
  43. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  44. Headed to San Francisco This Week - December 9, 2007
  45. Earth at Night from Rosetta - November 21, 2007
  46. Google Offers New Mapping Data for Switzerland - November 14, 2007
  47. Links: Google at the Pump, Sigdoarjo Mud Flow, Boxing Champs, California Fire Costs, New Trees - November 9, 2007
  48. X PRIZE Cup Photos Mapped - November 1, 2007
  49. Trip Status, Links: PhotoOverlay tool, CIA World Factbook, Another BMNG - October 29, 2007
  50. Links: Chinese Cop Catches Crook, Malibu Fire, EveryTrail Update, CIA WorldFactbook, Hungary Weather - October 22, 2007
  51. Microsoft Virtual Earth Supports Basic KML and KML Searching - October 15, 2007
  52. 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup - October 8, 2007
  53. Links: GE for scientists, Human body, Burma, Census Explorer, Virtual Earth, Cleanup Weekend - October 2, 2007
  54. News Roundup: Poles Overlays, Rocket Garden, Army Topos, Astronomy, Roads - September 20, 2007
  55. New Google Maps Moon Update - September 13, 2007
  56. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
  57. Flight Simulator HUD Display Guide, and an Advanced Tip - September 6, 2007
  58. New Real-Time Traffic Layer in Google Earth - August 21, 2007
  59. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 8, 2007
  60. Sailing with Google Earth for Navigation - August 6, 2007
  61. India Maps - Local Knowledge Power - July 24, 2007
  62. Encompassing the Globe - July 16, 2007
  63. News Roundup: GE Design, Live Tour de France, PhotoSketch, Iran Nuclear Project - July 13, 2007
  64. News Roundup - New GeoSearch, GeoWeb 2007, Traffic Gadget, Earthplot, Environmental Data - July 9, 2007
  65. Google Maps New Additions for India and UAE - July 1, 2007
  66. Google Maps Click and Drag Directions - Google Earth Tip - June 28, 2007
  67. New Picasa Web Albums Integration with Google Earth/Maps - June 27, 2007
  68. Google Earth Layer Changes - Geographic Web, Roads Layers - June 26, 2007
  69. Google Adds Mapping to YouTube - What does it mean? - June 25, 2007
  70. Tour de France 2007 in Google Earth - June 20, 2007
  71. Google Transit in Google Earth - June 5, 2007
  72. US Township and Range Land Survey Info for Google Earth - May 22, 2007
  73. New Google Earth Layers Update: Amsterdam 3D, Forest Service, Taiwan Roads - May 17, 2007
  74. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
  75. Having Fun with Google Earth and SpaceNavigator - May 10, 2007
  76. Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D - Video Demos - May 9, 2007
  77. Possible "LOST" Island Locations in Google Earth - May 8, 2007
  78. News Roundup 2 - Science Visualization, Netherlands GIS, Flu Map, Nokia SportsTracker - May 6, 2007
  79. "If I Go in a Straight Line Around the Earth, Where do I Pass?" - May 3, 2007
  80. Globe Glider Video Demonstration - May 2, 2007
  81. News Roundup - Chile Border Crisis, Caribou, Gumball Rally, Emotions - April 30, 2007
  82. New Google Maps: Russia, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia - April 26, 2007
  83. News Roundup: My Maps/YouTube, Nokia N95, Census, Arc2Earth, Show-n-Tell - April 13, 2007
  84. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
  85. My Maps - New Google Maps Update Supports Google Earth Features - April 5, 2007
  86. 677 US Marine Charts for Google Earth on 1 CD - March 31, 2007
  87. Dig a Hole Through Google Earth - March 16, 2007
  88. News Roundup - Version stats, KML Editors, GooPs, Hey What's That? - March 15, 2007
  89. US Migration Patterns in Google Earth - March 12, 2007
  90. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 7, 2007
  91. New Video Demos of Latest 3D Buildings for Google Earth - February 26, 2007
  92. Guatemala City Sinkhole Location Found in Google Earth - February 24, 2007
  93. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
  94. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
  95. More Details on New Layers/Updates - February 18, 2007
  96. Australia Has Detailed Roads in Google Earth - February 17, 2007
  97. Navigation Tricks with Google Earth 4 - January 31, 2007
  98. Track Cruise Ships in 3D in Google Earth - January 22, 2007
  99. Sundance Film Festival Map in Google Earth - January 17, 2007
  100. Google Earth Blog World Headquarters - January 16, 2007
  101. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
  102. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
  103. Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in Google Earth - December 27, 2006
  104. Amazing Implementation of Marine Charts for Google Earth - December 21, 2006
  105. Interesting Satellite Visualizations for Google Earth - December 15, 2006
  106. Santa's Toy Hunt and Santa Tracker in Google Earth - December 13, 2006
  107. Historical Maps - Now Viewable in Other Language Versions of Google Earth - December 11, 2006
  108. Shipwreck - A Historical Documentary Including 3D in Google Earth - December 8, 2006
  109. Trulia Adds Google Earth for Real Estate Searches - December 5, 2006
  110. YouTube Demo of SpaceNavigator with Google Earth - November 28, 2006
  111. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
  112. Historical Maps for Denmark - November 26, 2006
  113. Google Supports Geography Awareness Week - November 13, 2006
  114. Nuclear Bombs in Google Earth - November 10, 2006
  115. Route du Rhum - Live Sailing Race in Google Earth - November 1, 2006
  116. Trip Report and News Roundup: Flight to Las Cruces, Sensors, BBC on Maps, New blog - October 18, 2006
  117. US Forest Service Creates Google Earth Air Traffic Control - October 12, 2006
  118. Plane Crashed into Building in New York - See Location in Google Earth - October 11, 2006
  119. Flickr Geotagged Photo Statistics in Google Earth - September 28, 2006
  120. GPSVisualizer Supports New Google Earth 4 Time Support - September 15, 2006
  121. Google Earth 4 Time Feature Example - September 14, 2006
  122. News Roundup: Tides, Scientific visualization, Geody, Movie Times - August 24, 2006
  123. Ramses II Move Planned with Google Earth - August 23, 2006
  124. Goggles - Google Maps Flight Simulator, Also: Google Earth Flying - August 8, 2006
  125. Ping Pong Ball Interface to Google Earth - Cool! - July 30, 2006
  126. My Backpacking Trip and the Lost Couple Found After Three Days - July 24, 2006
  127. Battleship Google Earth - July 19, 2006
  128. Bus Live Tracking at USC - Research Project - July 14, 2006
  129. FSEarth 3.0 - MS Flight Simulator and Google Earth - July 8, 2006
  130. Magnalox Provides Live Tracking Interface for Google Earth - July 7, 2006
  131. Sailing Adventures and Anchorages of the Caribbean - July 1, 2006
  132. Pete Goss in 2006 Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race - June 18, 2006
  133. Watch a GPS Phone Being Delivered via UPS Live! - June 7, 2006
  134. Pin in the Map - Keep it Simple - May 30, 2006
  135. Unicycling for College Money - Track Max in Google Earth - May 28, 2006
  136. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Points of Interest in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
  137. Tour de France 2006 in Google Earth - May 25, 2006
  138. Volvo Ocean Race Leg 7 in Google Earth - May 18, 2006
  139. Juicy Geography Lesson on GPS - May 3, 2006
  140. Tagzania - Powerful Google Maps/Google Earth Mashup - April 26, 2006
  141. magnalox - New Features for Google Earth - April 25, 2006
  142. Directions for Europe Now in Google Maps/Google Earth - April 24, 2006
  143. Bowdoin College Campus - A Google Earth Map - April 22, 2006
  144. Seattle 911 Live in Google Earth - April 18, 2006
  145. Mini-News Roundup - April 17, 2006
  146. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 4, 2006
  147. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 5 - April 3, 2006
  148. GlobalFlyer Attempting Third World Record - March 15, 2006
  149. Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 in Google Earth - March 10, 2006
  150. Best Topo Map Interface for Google Earth - March 9, 2006
  151. Bermuda Treasure Shipwrecks Map - March 7, 2006
  152. FSPilot Connects FS2004 to Google Earth - February 26, 2006
  153. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 in Google Earth - February 19, 2006
  154. Maps of Torino, Italy - Winter Olympics Site - in Google Earth - February 5, 2006
  155. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
  156. Sundance Film Festival "Event Map" in Google Earth - January 24, 2006
  157. Enhancement to GPSVisualizer for Google Earth - January 23, 2006
  158. Endangered Frigatebird "Lydia" Tracked in Google Earth - January 21, 2006
  159. Enhanced Road Layers for Google Earth - January 19, 2006
  160. Transatlantic Sailing Adventure Using Google Earth - January 18, 2006
  161. CIA World FactBook in Google Earth - January 13, 2006
  162. Google Earth for Cars - January 7, 2006
  163. Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 - January 6, 2006
  164. Globe Glider - Integrated Maps within Google Earth - January 3, 2006
  165. Official Google Earth Santa Tracker - December 23, 2005
  166. Santa's Route in Google Earth - December 21, 2005
  167. Wilco Database of Concert Tours - December 14, 2005
  168. Gone Sailing! Passage Plan in Google Earth - December 13, 2005
  169. More GIS Data for Google Earth - December 1, 2005
  170. Tracking Birds with Google Earth - November 25, 2005
  171. Transat Jacques Vabre 2005 Race in Google Earth - November 16, 2005
  172. Fantastic Google Earth Documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton - November 14, 2005
  173. Everything You Wanted to Know About Singapore - November 12, 2005
  174. Another Sailor Documents Trips Using Google Earth - November 9, 2005
  175. Lewis and Clark Expedition in Google Earth - November 8, 2005
  176. MapLandia - Unique International Google Maps/Earth Website - November 2, 2005
  177. GPS/Photo Tracks - RoboGEO v2.1 Supports Google Earth - October 31, 2005
  178. New Satellite Photos for Pakistan - Kathryn Cramer - October 25, 2005
  179. Hidden Logging in Tropical Forests Revealed - October 22, 2005
  180. Magnalox - GPS Story Telling for Google Earth - October 19, 2005
  181. View All the World Heritage Sites - October 13, 2005
  182. Documenting a Recent Flying Trip - October 9, 2005
  183. Aussie Crag Climbing - October 7, 2005
  184. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 4, 2005
  185. Watching Sports with Google Earth - September 27, 2005
  186. Tracking a Whale Shark in the Indian Ocean - September 24, 2005
  187. Sailing the Seven Seas - September 10, 2005
  188. Google Earth/Maps Helps with Archeological Discovery - September 7, 2005
  189. City of Portland GIS - August 25, 2005
  190. Geocaching Google Earth - August 15, 2005
  191. Arizona Hiking Trip - August 10, 2005
  192. Earth at Night - August 9, 2005
  193. Flying - Keeping a Flight Log - August 5, 2005
  194. Geotagged Flickr photos on the fly... - August 3, 2005
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