Science Archives

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 8, 2009

World Oceans Day, 3D Design Competition, Britain Archeological Site, New Imagery Tour Idea

  • World Oceans Day - This is a good thing - the UN has declared today World Oceans Day. I like the idea of "Wear Blue Tell Two" - wear something blue and tell two people something about the oceans they don't know. Google is doing their part at least by releasing a cool collection of Google Earth files telling people about the ocean. I like the one that shows you where plastic trash would end up if you dropped it somewhere in the ocean (based on currents/winds). And, if you haven't loaded Google Earth in a while, Google Earth 5 came out in February with a wealth of information about the oceans and lets you see the oceans like never before.

    Did you know the world's coral reefs are dying? Read more from NASA here.

  • 3D Design Competition - Today is also Frank Lloyd Wright's 142nd birthday. In honor of this, Google and the Guggenheim have announced a new 3D competition called Design It: Shelter Competition. According to Google's announcement: "...the competition is inspired by Wright's assignment for his apprentices at Taliesin: If you wanted to study to be an architect with Wright, you had to design and build a shelter in the desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Then you had to live and study in it." Deadline is August 23rd. Watch the video for an overview. Speaking of 3D - Google also featured another modeler who has contributed to the 3D Warehouse.

    By the way, it would be cool if someone created a collection of placemarks of locations where you can see 3D models of Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Google Earth. Here's a thread of placemarks showing locations.

  • Britain Archeological Site - Stefan read about a new archeological find near Stonehenge, and set out to do some sleuthing to discover the location. He found it and explains how at his OgleEarth post.

  • New Imagery Tour Idea - Last week Microsoft came out with a slick tour of some of their latest new imagery for Virtual Earth ... err I mean Live Local Maps... err I mean Bing Maps (the latest name). As soon as I saw it, I realized Google should be doing tours of their new imagery (like the one that came out Saturday). Using the new Tour mode in Google Earth, you could really show off new imagery (and 3D Terrain) in a snazzy way - you could even add some nice background music while you watch GE fly from place to place. It could be even cooler than Microsoft's! :-) Google recently started doing 3D tours for 3D models - so why not the imagery and terrain?

Posted by FrankTaylor at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2009

US Drought Conditions in Google Earth by NOAA

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (better known as NOAA) has been producing a number of useful KML files which can be viewed in Google Earth. Today I'm highlighting a collection of updated drought maps which can be viewed with the time animation feature in Google Earth. NOAA has several collections at this web page which cover the year 2000 through to the present. The maps highlight the regions of drought conditions with colored contours which indicate the severity of drought (Dark red is the most severe). I recommend only loading a single year at a time unless you have a lot of memory. (The one covering the full ten year range is recommended to only be used with GE Pro because it only seems to work with Pro.) To illustrate (and save you the time to load), I've created a video showing the 2005 to present animation:

Other examples of NOAA data available in Google Earth:

Posted by FrankTaylor at 8:56 AM | Comments (5)

June 3, 2009

Exoplanet Astronomy Star Trek Style

I stumbled upon a cool site that tells you some basic facts about known exoplanets. But, rather than a boring web page, it pretends you are on the bridge of a Star Trek ship using the computer. The underlying planet view comes from a Google Earth plugin using the Sky mode. Yet another fun example of using the GE API and plugin in innovative ways with an educational twist.

Star Trek-style view on exoplanets using Google Sky

Posted by FrankTaylor at 9:53 AM | Comments (2)

May 7, 2009

Links: Non-Profit Resources, Featured Modelers, Poet Recognized, 3D/4D Quake Analysis

  • Non-Profit Resources - Google has posted links to a number of geo-resources for non-profits (or anyone) to help create cool Google Earth content (or with other geo-tools). Google also highlights some content developed by MapAction on Humanitarian mapping tips.

  • Featured Modelers - The Official Google SketchUp blog has started a series of featured 3D modelers. The first lucky modeler is 'IntoTheWest" who has created a ton of buildings for the city of Calgary.

  • Poet Recognized - The poet well-known (at least in Latin America) poet Raúl Zurita created a huge 3km tall "poem" in the desert of Chile (so tall its quite clear in Google Earth). He recently helped open the new UCLA Center for Argentina, Chile and the Southern Cone. Zurita also received the 2000 Chile's National Prize for Literature for his works.

  • 3D/4D Quake Analysis - Received an E-mail from Luca Postpischl, of Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia, about his work visualizing data from the recent Abruzzo Earthquake in Italy. He has created a KML file with lots of interesting data about the earthquake. Of particular note is a time animation showing a 3D presentation of the earthquake seismic events. (NOTE: you have to spread open the time slider handles to see the data properly and move your view to a higher point to see the data projected miles above the surface). This isn't the first time I've seen a 3D presentation of seismic data though. A similar 3D representation was done by Duncan Agnew of Scripps Institution of Oceanography - seen here.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 1:49 PM | Comments (0)

More entries for this category:

  1. More Discoveries with Google Earth - April 29, 2009
  2. Two Collections: US Coast Guard and Right Whales - April 28, 2009
  3. Links: Ocean Now, Michigan Earth Day, Goldman Prize, Convention Center, Queen Mary - April 21, 2009
  4. Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapse in Google Earth - April 17, 2009
  5. Introduction to Mars Tour with GE Plugin - April 7, 2009
  6. Touring with Google Earth Plugin - April 6, 2009
  7. Shaded Relief Map for Google Earth - April 3, 2009
  8. Google Earth Mars Update - Live Imagery from Another Planet - March 13, 2009
  9. US Solar Jobs Map - March 11, 2009
  10. Upside Down Earthquakes - March 9, 2009
  11. Satellite Collision Debris Tracking in Google Earth - February 23, 2009
  12. Google Earth 5 - The New Google Mars - February 2, 2009
  13. News: Gibraltar Terrain, Earth Surfer Code, Naval Observatory, Dutch Geography Animation, Earthpoint, Eclipse - January 27, 2009
  14. Astronomers Use Google Sky to Raise Research Funds - January 12, 2009
  15. Links: GE Plugin Update, KML Contest Update, Panoramio Contest, Teaching with GE, Santa Video - December 5, 2008
  16. Ocean Biogeographic Maps in Google Earth - November 25, 2008
  17. Links: Where 2.0, Weather Buoys, Argentina, Earthscape, MapMyPage, and more - November 19, 2008
  18. Virtual Globes at AGU 2008 - Science Applications of Google Earth - November 11, 2008
  19. Links: Bioneers, Science Apps, Ogle Catchup, Google Ocean, GreenPeace, Geocoding - October 24, 2008
  20. Links: A Million Photos, Wii Jogging, Transportation, Argentina Roads, KML Contest, Ryder Cup - September 26, 2008
  21. More Detailed Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - September 19, 2008
  22. See Large Hadron Collider in Google Earth - September 10, 2008
  23. Google Earth News Roundup - September 5, 2008
  24. Google Earth Shows Cows Magnetic? Really? - August 27, 2008
  25. Google.org Visualizes US Geothermal Data in Google Earth - August 21, 2008
  26. Watch Arctic Ice Melting in Google Earth - August 11, 2008
  27. Links: Walking, Havana, Eclipse, Oil, Follow the Boat - July 23, 2008
  28. Live Hurricane Hunter Missions in Google Earth - July 21, 2008
  29. Storm Tracking With Google Earth - July 3, 2008
  30. 2008 August 1st Total Eclipse in Google Earth - June 23, 2008
  31. Popular Science Highlights Scientific Applications of Google Earth - June 20, 2008
  32. Visualizing China's Sichuan Earthquake in Google Earth - May 17, 2008
  33. NASA Time Animation of Ionosphere For Google Earth - May 5, 2008
  34. Links: Science Uses, Compass, GM vs VE, Healthy Planet, and more - April 28, 2008
  35. Google Earth For Earth Day - April 22, 2008
  36. Links: GE Lesson, GETools, Microsoft KML, 3D Bridges, Royal Australian 3D, EPA Award - April 18, 2008
  37. Links: GE/SketchUp Classes, Sea Ice Update, Bergen Terrain, Waldo - April 11, 2008
  38. Links: Digital Urban Booklet, GE OSX UI Tweak, Peru Meteor Strike - March 31, 2008
  39. Wilkins Ice Shelf, Sea Ice Extent Animation - March 28, 2008
  40. Brightest Object Ever Observed in Google Sky - March 25, 2008
  41. Global Temperature Trends for Google Earth - March 24, 2008
  42. Sir Arthur C. Clarke - R.I.P. - March 19, 2008
  43. Australian Geologist Accidentally Discovers Meteor Crater in Google Earth - March 18, 2008
  44. Links: SR22 Cockpit, Jane Austen, Magnetic Pole, Taiwan GE Bonanza, Tutorial, VE3D on Mac - March 17, 2008
  45. Google Sky Wavelength Slider Mashup - March 13, 2008
  46. Links: Games, KML, Data, and more - March 4, 2008
  47. Live Orbit Tracker in Google Earth - March 3, 2008
  48. WorldWide Telescope vs Google Sky - February 28, 2008
  49. UK Earthquake - View Data in Google Earth - February 27, 2008
  50. Links: Outreach Showcase, Spreadsheet mapping, Geo Test, KML Lesson Talk - February 26, 2008
  51. NOAA Weather Data in Google Earth - February 25, 2008
  52. Predict Tonight's Lunar Eclipse with Google Earth - February 20, 2008
  53. Dinosaurs Once Again Walk the Earth - February 4, 2008
  54. New Layer Goodness for Google Earth - January 2008 - January 25, 2008
  55. Links: KML Wrap-up, New Orrery, Zip Scribble, South China Sea - January 23, 2008
  56. Links: Zillow News, Virtual Volcanology, Design in GE, GearthHacks News, Ski Time, VE Geocoding - January 18, 2008
  57. Google Sky - The Next Generation (Updated) - January 9, 2008
  58. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  59. AGU Fall Meeting - Day 2 Highlights - December 20, 2007
  60. Links: Daily Earth Imagery, Antarctica Photos, Panoramio Searchable, Santa Sleigh - December 18, 2007
  61. Montserrat Volcanic Island in Google Earth - December 17, 2007
  62. Google Sky with a Maps API - December 16, 2007
  63. AGU Fall Meeting - Day 1 Highlights - December 13, 2007
  64. Earthquake Activity Time Animation - December 12, 2007
  65. Links: Maps Terrain in GE, GPS Trip Planning, Geo Lessons, and more - December 11, 2007
  66. Space Shuttle STS 122 Ascent Profile in Google Earth - December 6, 2007
  67. Large Hadron Collider Visible in Google Earth - November 28, 2007
  68. Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - November 26, 2007
  69. Earth at Night from Rosetta - November 21, 2007
  70. Links: Virtual Globes at AGU, Your Town in 3D, MGD Monitor Layer - November 2, 2007
  71. Links: Mac Leopard, Earthquakes, 3D Warehouse, MODIS SuperOverlays - November 1, 2007
  72. Comet Holmes Gets Bright - October 25, 2007
  73. Astronomy Picture-Overlay of the Day in Google Sky - October 10, 2007
  74. World's Largest Radio Telescope May Close - October 9, 2007
  75. 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup - October 8, 2007
  76. Links: Ohio Class Sub, Galactic Delight, Constellation Drawings - October 5, 2007
  77. Links: GE for scientists, Human body, Burma, Census Explorer, Virtual Earth, Cleanup Weekend - October 2, 2007
  78. Volcano Eruption Kills 8 - Jabal al-Tair, Yemen - October 1, 2007
  79. Beautiful Sky in Google Earth - September 26, 2007
  80. Links: Planet Orbits, SuperOverlay 2.0, GEC 1 million, Google Social Network - September 24, 2007
  81. News Roundup: Poles Overlays, Rocket Garden, Army Topos, Astronomy, Roads - September 20, 2007
  82. Planets Add-on for Google Earth's Sky - September 19, 2007
  83. Supernova Explosion in Google Earth Sky - September 17, 2007
  84. New Google Maps Moon Update - September 13, 2007
  85. Sky News Roundup: New Horizon, SpaceNavigator, Google plans for Sky - September 12, 2007
  86. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
  87. Sky Goodies: Hubble Tracker, Sky KML Guide, Horizon Add-on - August 30, 2007
  88. Google Earth 4.2 Roundup - August 27, 2007
  89. Video Showing New Google Sky Feature of Google Earth 4.2 - August 22, 2007
  90. Video Showing Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - August 20, 2007
  91. News Roundup: Peru Earthquake, Virtual Earth Update, Stefan's Alps Hike - August 16, 2007
  92. Scientific Ocean Drilling Database in Google Earth - August 14, 2007
  93. Virtual Globes at AGU 2007 - Call for Papers - August 8, 2007
  94. Rising Water Effects for Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro - July 31, 2007
  95. Improved International Polar Year Content for Google Earth - July 30, 2007
  96. Herbarium Data of Chile in Google Earth - July 26, 2007
  97. The Solar System in Google Earth - July 18, 2007
  98. Solar Eclipses in Google Earth - July 17, 2007
  99. Solar System Moons in Google Earth - July 15, 2007
  100. Quasi-global Near real-time Rainfall in Google Earth - July 3, 2007
  101. Visualizing LIDAR with Google Earth - July 2, 2007
  102. Google Earth Outreach Announcement Video - June 28, 2007
  103. Notes from the Google Earth Outreach Announcement in NYC - June 27, 2007
  104. Gallery Update - June 18, 2007
  105. News RoundUp: Football Game, VesselTracker, Antarctic Bases, Egyptian Digs, 3D Cities Help, Chimps, Gallery - June 12, 2007
  106. ISDE Day 3 Summary - June 8, 2007
  107. International Symposium on Digital Earth - Day 1, Part 1 - June 5, 2007
  108. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
  109. News Roundup - Nokia N95, gCensus US, Greensburg Radar Animation - May 14, 2007
  110. News Roundup 2 - Science Visualization, Netherlands GIS, Flu Map, Nokia SportsTracker - May 6, 2007
  111. News Roundup - Chile Border Crisis, Caribou, Gumball Rally, Emotions - April 30, 2007
  112. Stephen Hawking Flies in Zero G - April 27, 2007
  113. Maverick Waves Explained - Illustration in Google Earth - April 23, 2007
  114. New California Marine Protected Areas in Google Earth - April 20, 2007
  115. News Roundup: My Maps/YouTube, Nokia N95, Census, Arc2Earth, Show-n-Tell - April 13, 2007
  116. New Blog - Google Earth Library; Moon and Mars Overlays - April 9, 2007
  117. Utah Geo Sightseeing in Google Earth - April 4, 2007
  118. NSF Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge - March 27, 2007
  119. New Snow and Ice Data for Google Earth - March 5, 2007
  120. Happy International Polar Year! Google Earth Presentation - March 2, 2007
  121. NASA Releases More Earth Data for Google Earth - February 22, 2007
  122. News Roundup - FreeGeoTools, Sprol, Subsurface, conferences, Magnalox - February 12, 2007
  123. Underwater Roman Village? - February 8, 2007
  124. Google Earth Critical Tool in Fight Against Logging Plan - February 6, 2007
  125. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
  126. Daily NASA MODIS Satellite Imagery for Google Earth - January 20, 2007
  127. NOAA Releases Estuarine Bathymetric Data for Google Earth - January 12, 2007
  128. Upper Green Valley Environmental Issues Illustrated with Google Earth - January 10, 2007
  129. News Roundup: GlobeXplorer Acquired by DigitalGlobe, Conferences, Google Telescope - January 8, 2007
  130. Update on NASA/Google Press Briefing - December 18, 2006
  131. Interesting Satellite Visualizations for Google Earth - December 15, 2006
  132. Virtual Globes Sessions at AGU - Day 1 - December 13, 2006
  133. Avian Flu Tracker Updated - December 12, 2006
  134. NASA Goddard Publishes Huge Google Earth Time Animations - December 10, 2006
  135. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Publishes Google Earth Content - December 8, 2006
  136. The Malaria Map Project in Google Earth - December 6, 2006
  137. View Melting Glaciers in Google Earth - December 3, 2006
  138. Maplecroft Risk Analsysis Global Maps in Google Earth - November 22, 2006
  139. Protecting Rainforests in Victoria, Australia Using Google Earth - November 21, 2006
  140. Blue Marble Time Animation in Google Earth - November 15, 2006
  141. NY Times on New Theory of Higher Frequency of Large Meteor Impacts - November 14, 2006
  142. Google Supports Geography Awareness Week - November 13, 2006
  143. Jupiter Clouds in Motion in Google Earth - November 12, 2006
  144. Earth on Fire - November 4, 2006
  145. News Roundup - Animated 3D, EmerGeo, Altered Oceans, Virtual Airlines - October 29, 2006
  146. National Weather Service Releases Radar Loops for Google Earth - October 26, 2006
  147. Hawaii Earthquake Data in Google Earth - October 23, 2006
  148. Armchair Archeology with Google Earth - October 17, 2006
  149. Global Paleogeographic Time Animation - October 16, 2006
  150. Flight of Space Ship One Depicted in Google Earth - October 12, 2006
  151. Space Atlas for Google Earth - October 10, 2006
  152. News Roundup - October 9, 2006
  153. Wirefly X PRIZE Cup Showcases 3D Space Models for Google Earth - October 5, 2006
  154. Maps for Global Hunger / Poverty in Google Earth - October 4, 2006
  155. UNEP's New Environment Layer in Google Earth - September 21, 2006
  156. More Innovative Time Animation Examples for Google Earth - September 19, 2006
  157. Anousheh Ansari Blasts off to Space - September 18, 2006
  158. Google Earth 4 Time Feature Example - September 14, 2006
  159. Huge New Layers Update in Google Earth - September 13 - September 13, 2006
  160. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
  161. News Roundup: Tides, Scientific visualization, Geody, Movie Times - August 24, 2006
  162. Jane Goodall Gombe Chimpanzee GeoBlog V2.0 - August 21, 2006
  163. Moon Trees in Google Earth - August 10, 2006
  164. Homemade Network of Real-time Lightning Data - See it in Google Earth - August 9, 2006
  165. News Roundup - New GE Book, GE and Science, 3D Model, GIS Day, Another Chance - August 2, 2006
  166. Google Saturn - July 30, 2006
  167. Lava Flows in Google Earth - July 27, 2006
  168. ReefBase - Status of the World's Coral Reefs - July 25, 2006
  169. Weather Symbols in Google Earth - July 18, 2006
  170. New Tsunami Hits Southern Java Indonesia - July 17 - July 17, 2006
  171. Bus Live Tracking at USC - Research Project - July 14, 2006
  172. News Roundup - July 4, 2006
  173. New Volcano Layer in Google Earth - June 20, 2006
  174. FCC Data Visualization in Google Earth - June 6, 2006
  175. Avian Flu Outbreak Map Update - Human Cases in Indonesia - June 1, 2006
  176. Global Volcanoes by Smithsonian Institution for Google Earth - May 20, 2006
  177. Decrease in Avian Flu Spread During Last Month - May 19, 2006
  178. Mount Merapi Volcano in Google Earth - May 15, 2006
  179. Real-time Stream Flow Sensor Net in Google Earth - May 14, 2006
  180. Kennedy Space Center Placemarks and Webcams - May 11, 2006
  181. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 9, 2006
  182. Map of Projected Sea Level Rise Effects on Vancouver - May 8, 2006
  183. Chernobyl Radiation Visualization in Google Earth - April 29, 2006
  184. Near Real-time Ocean/Weather Data - April 28, 2006
  185. USGS Releases Geologic Maps for Google Earth - April 25, 2006
  186. Earth Day - Google Earth Style - April 22, 2006
  187. Glacier Melt in Google Earth - April 20, 2006
  188. Space Elevator in Google Earth - April 17, 2006
  189. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Adds Google Earth Data - April 13, 2006
  190. State of Our Ecology in Google Earth - April 12, 2006
  191. Discovery Channel Releases Video Links for Google Earth - April 7, 2006
  192. USGS Releases Awesome 1906 Earthquake Documentary Using Google Earth - April 6, 2006
  193. USGS Using Google Earth for Historic Documentary on 1906 Quake - April 5, 2006
  194. Google Jupiter - April 3, 2006
  195. Enhanced Avian Flu Outbreak Tracker - March 27, 2006
  196. User Develops Mars Add-on for Google Earth - March 13, 2006
  197. USGS Virtual Tour of Hayward Fault in California - March 11, 2006
  198. Jane Goodall Chimpanzee GeoBlog - March 9, 2006
  199. Marine-related Google Earth Files - March 8, 2006
  200. New Crater Discovery Using Google Earth? - March 6, 2006
  201. Huge Crater Discovered in Saharan Desert - March 5, 2006
  202. Avian Flu Preparedness Using Google Earth - February 23, 2006
  203. Update on Nature Magazine Google Earth Stories - February 16, 2006
  204. Earthquake Monitoring - February 7, 2006
  205. More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth - January 31, 2006
  206. NASA Annual Day Land Temperatures of the Earth - January 30, 2006
  207. Global Fire Data in Google Earth - January 26, 2006
  208. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
  209. Environmental Groups Leveraging Google Earth - January 16, 2006
  210. Solar Eclipse Paths in Google Earth - January 12, 2006
  211. Aurora Viewing Map in Google Earth - January 5, 2006
  212. Tracking Birds with Google Earth - November 25, 2005
  213. Nature Magazine's Avian Flu Outbreak Map - November 16, 2005
  214. Avian Flu Outbreak Map in Google Earth - November 3, 2005
  215. Impact Structures (Craters) in Google Earth Continued - October 26, 2005
  216. Hidden Logging in Tropical Forests Revealed - October 22, 2005
  217. Storm Tracking Tools - Hurricane Wilma - October 19, 2005
  218. Meteor Craters on Earth - October 18, 2005
  219. The Ants Go Marching One by One - October 1, 2005
  220. Asteroid Occultations - September 15, 2005
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