Video Archives

February 5, 2010

Google Earth in Microsoft Flight Simulator

Google I/O 2010 is coming in May, but we're already starting to hear about some of the neat projects that will be unveiled there.

The first one is called GEVision, from the guys at PlanetInAction, which is trying to evolve into a 3D scenery engine. Their initial goal is to use Google Earth as the scenery in Microsoft Flight Simulator: "In the past various attempts had been made to use Google Earth scenery instead of the one included in Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX. Yet due to limitations in the interface technology this has never been fully achieved. GEVision is a new project that will enable the use of Google Earth as a full blown 3D scenery engine."

There have been some integrations of MS Flight Sim and Google Earth in the past, but nothing to this extent. Previous integrations include a version that used Google Earth as an overhead map and an idea to take Flight Sim Scenery and use it in Google Earth.

Over the past few years Google Earth imagery, combined with improved terrain quality and more 3D buildings, has blown past the quality found in Microsoft Flight Sim. The only real downside would be less realistic airports (MS Flight Sim does a great job with those), but that is improving with each new imagery update as well. On the flip side, Google Earth has a built-in flight simulator, but it's not nearly as full-featured as the one made by Microsoft. Combining the best of both could create something pretty neat.

The video below shows the vast quality difference between Google Earth and MS Flight Simulator X:

If you'd like more information about how to use the Google Earth Plug-in in a desktop application, this page should help. GEVision is expected to unveil some type of public release at Google I/O, so we're looking forward to seeing what comes out of it.

If you know of other neat projects coming at I/O, send me an email and let me know about it.

Posted by mickmel at 8:59 AM | Comments (5)

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February 2, 2010

A Climate Change Tour of Cold Places

Over the past few years, The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has built some impressive Google Earth files, such as the Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapse.

They've now released a project titled "A Climate Change Tour of Cold Places", which was created as a collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education. The 12 minute tour is narrated, and features a variety of photos and videos along the way. They call it a "tour of the snowy and icy regions of the world covering sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, and permafrost".

Climate Change Tour

You can download the KML of the tour here. For details about the data behind the tour, they have a comprehensive data sheet available. For more information, simply visit their site.

Posted by mickmel at 9:18 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2010

Google Earth on the iPad

By now, most of you have heard all about Apple's new iPad, their tablet computer. If you haven't yet, check out Apple's iPad page for some information, photos and videos. For us, the big question has been how well it'll handle Google Maps and Google Earth. Before we can answer that, though, we need to look at the hardware.

Google Maps on the iPad

Unlike the latest iPhones, not all of the iPads have GPS built-in. They all include the digital compass and accelerometer, but only the 3G versions come with a GPS. It's assumed that Apple figured a GPS would be less useful if you didn't have a 3G connection, which I suppose is fair. However, I could use my Cradlepoint with it when I'm out and about, and others could use devices like the Verizon MiFi. Ultimately though, keeping the price at $499 for the basic model was a great decision, and removing GPS from the low end models certainly helped with that.

Speed-wise, everyone that has tested one says that it's noticeably faster than the iPhone 3GS. Because it runs "almost all" of the iPhone apps, we can assume that the Google Earth app will run on here, and run well. Google Earth 2.0 for the iPhone is excellent, and it should translate well to iPad.

The next question is whether or not Google will update Google Earth specifically for the iPad. While most iPhone apps will run without a problem, they need to be scaled up to fill the screen, resulting in a chunkier image. If they were to rewrite the app specifically for the iPad, they could make it look much sharper. A year ago, I would have been quite sure they'd do it. Now, with Google's push toward Android, it's hard to say. Will Google put in the effort to update Google Earth for the iPad, or will more of their focus shift to Android? If we find out anything one way or another, we'll be sure to let you know.

There had been speculation that Apple will be replacing Google Maps on the iPhone (and thus on the iPad) with their own system after the purchase of Placebase, but that's not the case -- at least not yet. Google Maps and StreetView look excellent on the iPad, but ultimately seem to be almost identical to the iPhone versions. Check out the video below for a quick look at it:

Without a doubt, Google Maps on the iPad looks to be a great experience. Here's another short video of Google Maps on there, with Apple's Phil Schiller demoing it. The speed and smoothness of the application is quite remarkable:

If you're lucky enough to get your hands on one in the near future, fire up Google Earth and let us know what you think of it. We'll update this post if we learn any information about Google's future plans for the iPad.

Posted by mickmel at 9:24 AM | Comments (5)

January 13, 2010

Revisiting the SpaceNavigator

Space NavigatorIt'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 | Comments (8)

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.

Burj Dubai

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 | Comments (1)


More entries for this category:

  1. Barranco 3D Project - December 28, 2009
  2. The Santa tracker 2009 is now live! - December 24, 2009
  3. More cities get lifelike facades: Portland, Austin, Chicago and Philadelphia - December 22, 2009
  4. Links: GeoVation, Greenhouse gas world graph, Tiger Woods home - December 18, 2009
  5. Stunning virtual cruise tours - December 17, 2009
  6. UK postcode data to be set free in 2010 - December 14, 2009
  7. Detroit finally goes 3D, new imagery on Mars - December 11, 2009
  8. Links: Audi A8 with Google Earth, Liquid Galaxy, Deer Hunting, StreetView in the snow - December 10, 2009
  9. Connect with Google Earth Blog - December 8, 2009
  10. Six more cities added to Building Maker - December 3, 2009
  11. NORAD will track Santa once again - December 2, 2009
  12. Model Your Town - December 1, 2009
  13. Links: Trikes in South Africa, 10K museums, 10 things to know - November 24, 2009
  14. Disney in Google Earth - November 23, 2009
  15. Sketchup 7.1 bug fixes and lifelike facades - November 20, 2009
  16. Google adds new cities and features to Building Maker - November 18, 2009
  17. How to use StreetView in Google Earth - November 12, 2009
  18. MS Oasis of the Seas heading for Florida - November 9, 2009
  19. Links: Milwaukee and Indianpolis 3D buildings, Fraps 3.0 released - November 6, 2009
  20. Links: Seero for sale, i-gotU GPS logger review, Best of Building Maker expands - November 3, 2009
  21. Links: Race My Race, Random Hacks of Kindness, WorldView-2 - October 13, 2009
  22. Links: Load KMZ files on handheld Garmin devices, video of NASA rocket crashing into the moon - October 9, 2009
  23. Links: Improve Map Data, Urban Planning Webinars, Students building 3D models - October 8, 2009
  24. Loop Links, Biodiversity and the Law of the Sea - September 30, 2009
  25. Links: Building Design Competition, Google Wave - September 29, 2009
  26. Links: Boston University goes 3D and a fun real estate video - September 25, 2009
  27. Augmented Reality with Google Earth - September 15, 2009
  28. Two New 3D Cities in Google Earth: Dublin and Cardiff - September 4, 2009
  29. Links: Alphabet Soup, 3D Models movie, Fire tracking - August 24, 2009
  30. Links: Picasa Street View, Cool Screen, ArcExplorer Earth, SketchUp Podium Prize - August 17, 2009
  31. Planes For Google Earth Flight Simulator - August 11, 2009
  32. Google Earth Videos - July 30, 2009
  33. Amazing Lunar Lander Game Using Google Earth - July 27, 2009
  34. Google Marries Panoramio Lookaround to Street View - July 25, 2009
  35. Look at the Moon in Google Earth - Available Now! - July 20, 2009
  36. What if the Eagle Landed on Earth? - July 18, 2009
  37. Music Video with Google SketchUp - Awesome! - July 16, 2009
  38. Beastie Boys Create Google Earth Driving Game - July 9, 2009
  39. PhotoSketch Released - Make 3D Buildings from Photos - July 8, 2009
  40. Snoovel - Google Earth Tour Creation and Hosting Site - July 7, 2009
  41. Hurricane/Cyclone Tracking with Google Earth - June 25, 2009
  42. Lots of New 3D Content Added in Google Earth - June 10, 2009
  43. World Oceans Day, 3D Design Competition, Britain Archeological Site, New Imagery Tour Idea - June 8, 2009
  44. US Drought Conditions in Google Earth by NOAA - June 5, 2009
  45. Major Street View Upgrade - 3D Features - June 4, 2009
  46. Huge Waste of Energy Visible in Google Earth - June 2, 2009
  47. Links: New 3D Tours Gallery, Earth API Update - May 29, 2009
  48. More on Disney Paris, Street View Cave, Data.Gov, Space Imagery Enhancement - May 27, 2009
  49. Video of New 3D Disneyland Paris for Google Earth - May 25, 2009
  50. Where 2.0 - Day 2 - Short Summary - May 21, 2009
  51. Where 2.0 - Day 1 - Workshops and Ignite - May 20, 2009
  52. Fantastic Free Google Earth Game: Ships - May 18, 2009
  53. Formula One Circuit Tour - Car Simulation - April 24, 2009
  54. Links: Ocean Now, Michigan Earth Day, Goldman Prize, Convention Center, Queen Mary - April 21, 2009
  55. Synchronized YouTube with Google Earth Plugin - April 15, 2009
  56. Home Made Street View for Google Earth - March 25, 2009
  57. Glacier Melt Survey in Google Earth - March 24, 2009
  58. St. Patrick's Day Fun with Google Earth - March 17, 2009
  59. Heli-Ski Tour in Google Earth - March 12, 2009
  60. CO2 Emissions Data Visualization in Google Earth - February 23, 2009
  61. Make AR Movies from Google Earth 3D Models - February 18, 2009
  62. YouTube Searching in Google Earth - February 16, 2009
  63. Google Earth 5 Announcement Video - February 12, 2009
  64. Google Earth 5 - Video Showcase - February 3, 2009
  65. Google Earth 5 - Video Showcase - February 2, 2009
  66. Links: New GE Help Forums, DC-3 Weather Vane, NYC GE Visitor Center, Virtual Alabama Video, 360Cities Embed - January 22, 2009
  67. Fly Flight 1549 Yourself in Google Earth - January 21, 2009
  68. Urban Tick - Research Results in Google Earth - January 8, 2009
  69. Print 3D Buildings from Google Earth - January 7, 2009
  70. Happy Holidays from Google Earth Blog - December 23, 2008
  71. Links: Google Geo Data Grows, Maps Gets YouTube, Licensing, GeoServer Nod - December 18, 2008
  72. Upgrade to EveryTrail GPS Trails Layer in Google Earth - December 17, 2008
  73. Making Better 3D Models for Google Earth - December 9, 2008
  74. Links: GE Plugin Update, KML Contest Update, Panoramio Contest, Teaching with GE, Santa Video - December 5, 2008
  75. MutliTouch Wall Demo - Hilarious - October 24, 2008
  76. iPhone Earth Available Free Temporarily - New Features Too - September 19, 2008
  77. Links: Math Lessons, Chemical Brothers Video, Radar Loops, Swedish Hires - September 15, 2008
  78. Real-time Satellites in Google Earth - September 8, 2008
  79. Track Hurricane Hanna in Google Earth - September 1, 2008
  80. Sailing Passage From Exuma to North Carolina - August 25, 2008
  81. iPhone Earth App Available Now - August 22, 2008
  82. Watch Arctic Ice Melting in Google Earth - August 11, 2008
  83. Best Google Earth Interface Videos - July 16, 2008
  84. New Google Earth 4.3 (beta) Available - Version 4.3.7284.3916 - July 11, 2008
  85. More Bad News on Coral Reefs - NOAA's Google Earth Data - July 10, 2008
  86. New WebCams Layer for Google Earth - July 9, 2008
  87. Links: Earth API Explained, Tour of 3D, Geography Lesson Plan, How NIN KML Was Done - July 7, 2008
  88. Hologram Google Earth - July 1, 2008
  89. Links: Outreach Birthday, Bullit Chase Scene, NIN Downloads, KMLWiki - June 30, 2008
  90. Disney World 3D for Google Earth YouTube Demo - June 4, 2008
  91. Look Around with Google Panoramio - June 3, 2008
  92. iPhone Earth - Coolest Things I saw at Where 2.0 2008 - May 23, 2008
  93. Mike's Flying Bike for Google Earth - May 16, 2008
  94. Watch Where 2.0 Events Live Here with Seero - May 12, 2008
  95. Google Earth Zooming Music Video - April 21, 2008
  96. Links: GE Lesson, GETools, Microsoft KML, 3D Bridges, Royal Australian 3D, EPA Award - April 18, 2008
  97. New Navigation Gadgets in Google Earth 4.3 - April 16, 2008
  98. Video Demo of Google Earth 4.3 - April 15, 2008
  99. Links: Viewfinder, KML in the North, GE Pro Address Trick, Boy Finds Home - April 10, 2008
  100. Seero Releases Live Video with GPS Following for Google Earth - April 4, 2008
  101. Google Earth April Fools Joke Video - April 3, 2008
  102. Wilkins Ice Shelf, Sea Ice Extent Animation - March 28, 2008
  103. Links: Seero GPS Videos, GE Labels, Wikitude POIs, 3D Egyptian Viz - March 20, 2008
  104. YouTube API on Swiss Fighter Video - March 14, 2008
  105. Video Tutorials Inside Google Earth - March 12, 2008
  106. Links: Outreach Showcase, Spreadsheet mapping, Geo Test, KML Lesson Talk - February 26, 2008
  107. Miami Post - Links: Mapper Tool, GE Game, KML Wishlist - February 15, 2008
  108. YouTube Layer in Google Earth Updating Daily - February 7, 2008
  109. Powers of 10 in Google Earth - February 5, 2008
  110. Using Street View in Google Earth - February 4, 2008
  111. Video Tutorials for Google Earth - January 31, 2008
  112. Wrong Turn Down Google StreetView - January 27, 2008
  113. Guys Fly Balloon to 30 km Altitude - See it in Google Earth - January 25, 2008
  114. Musicians in Google Earth - January 22, 2008
  115. Major Geek Cred - January 17, 2008
  116. Top 10 New Google Earth Features 2007 - December 31, 2007
  117. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  118. Microsoft Needs to Share Data with Google - December 21, 2007
  119. Mazes of the World in Google Earth - December 10, 2007
  120. News and Links - Out of Beta, Crysis, Our Dumb World, Visual ILS - November 30, 2007
  121. Large Hadron Collider Visible in Google Earth - November 28, 2007
  122. Google Offers New Mapping Data for Switzerland - November 14, 2007
  123. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
  124. Crocodile Man Easter Egg in Google Earth - October 18, 2007
  125. Virtual Earth Bird's Eye Views in 3D - Seen in Google Earth First - October 15, 2007
  126. New YouTube Layer in Google Earth - October 11, 2007
  127. Hurricane Followspot Animations in Google Earth - October 4, 2007
  128. 3D Warehouse Open to All 3D KML Content - September 25, 2007
  129. 3D Red Bull Flights in Google Earth - September 21, 2007
  130. Supernova Explosion in Google Earth Sky - September 17, 2007
  131. Google Earth Outreach Enhancements - September 16, 2007
  132. 3D Buildings - Groningen, Netherlands - September 14, 2007
  133. Google Lunar X PRIZE - Race to the Moon! - September 13, 2007
  134. 3D Model Roundup: Floorplan Star Trek, Bouncing Earths - September 12, 2007
  135. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
  136. Video for Flying with Google Earth Flight Simulator - September 3, 2007
  137. The Gmail Video Collection in Google Earth - August 30, 2007
  138. Google Earth 4.2 Roundup - August 27, 2007
  139. Embed Video In Google Earth 4.2 Placemarks! - August 22, 2007
  140. Video Showing Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - August 20, 2007
  141. News Roundup: Peru Earthquake, Virtual Earth Update, Stefan's Alps Hike - August 16, 2007
  142. R/C Planes and Camera Fun with Google Earth - August 12, 2007
  143. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 8, 2007
  144. Barnabu 3D News - Animating International Flights in Google Earth - August 4, 2007
  145. Blues Brothers Bridge Jump Animation in Google Earth - July 24, 2007
  146. The Solar System in Google Earth - July 18, 2007
  147. Solar System Moons in Google Earth - July 15, 2007
  148. News Roundup: GE Design, Live Tour de France, PhotoSketch, Iran Nuclear Project - July 13, 2007
  149. Google Mapplets Officially Released - Mashups 2.0 - July 11, 2007
  150. Google Earth Outreach Announcement Video - June 28, 2007
  151. How to Add a Sky to Google Earth - June 24, 2007
  152. Taipei 3D Models for Google Earth - June 21, 2007
  153. London Eye Animation with Shadows for Google Earth - June 11, 2007
  154. Google Developer Day - Videos Released - June 1, 2007
  155. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
  156. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part II - May 18, 2007
  157. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
  158. Having Fun with Google Earth and SpaceNavigator - May 10, 2007
  159. Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D - Video Demos - May 9, 2007
  160. News Roundup 1 - Education, Clean Cruising, Magnalox, NASA UAVSAR - May 6, 2007
  161. Google Earth on The Simpsons - April 27, 2007
  162. Video Demo of New American Architecture 3D Layer for Google Earth - April 25, 2007
  163. Maverick Waves Explained - Illustration in Google Earth - April 23, 2007
  164. GeoBeats - Travel Videos - April 18, 2007
  165. More Google Earth Video Demos - New video category - April 8, 2007
  166. SketchUp Training DVD Available - April 6, 2007
  167. Google Earth in Second Life: GeoGlobe - March 28, 2007
  168. 4D London Eye in Google Earth - March 21, 2007
  169. Super High Resolution Photos in Google Earth - March 18, 2007
  170. Skype + Unype = Multi-User Google Earth - March 10, 2007
  171. YouTube Demo of Berlin in 3D for Google Earth - March 9, 2007
  172. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 7, 2007
  173. Swiss Alps "Fighter" Tour in Google Earth - March 1, 2007
  174. New Video Demos of Latest 3D Buildings for Google Earth - February 26, 2007
  175. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
  176. Google Earth Tutorials - Making 3D Poloygons, GE Pro Movie Making - February 21, 2007
  177. iCommunity.TV - News with Google Earth Location - February 14, 2007
  178. 3D Video Inside Google Earth - February 7, 2007
  179. Google Earth Critical Tool in Fight Against Logging Plan - February 6, 2007
  180. Video Tutorials for SketchUp to Google Earth - January 30, 2007
  181. Discovery Sunrise on Google Earth - January 29, 2007
  182. Super Touch Screen for Google Earth - January 25, 2007
  183. Boulder, Colorado 3D Buildings in Google Earth, and a Google 3D Contest - January 18, 2007
  184. Hamburg 3D Buildings Coming to Google Earth - January 17, 2007
  185. PanoViewer - Viewing Panorama Photos in Google Earth - January 15, 2007
  186. News Roundup - KML indexing, GPS tools, SketchUp PhotoMatch Tutorial, GE Blogs - January 13, 2007
  187. Upper Green Valley Environmental Issues Illustrated with Google Earth - January 10, 2007
  188. Awesome 3D Buildings of Denver in Google Earth - January 9, 2007
  189. The Truth About Google Earth - January 8, 2007
  190. Watch Remote Control Plane with Camera Capturing Real-time Images for Google Earth - January 5, 2007
  191. Book Recommendation: "Off the Map" - November 30, 2006
  192. YouTube Demo of SpaceNavigator with Google Earth - November 28, 2006
  193. New Blue Marble Add-on Version 2.0 - November 20, 2006
  194. Satellite Photo of KFC Logo and Viral Marketing Scheme - November 17, 2006
  195. TeachingHacks.com Video Course on Google Earth for Education - November 4, 2006
  196. Baseball, 3D Stadiums, Videos, and Google Earth - November 2, 2006
  197. End Mountain Top Removal Campaign with Google Earth - October 15, 2006
  198. Ad Campaign for Saturn Aura Uses Google Earth - September 26, 2006
  199. 3D 747 Airliner on Approach at Maho Beach in Google Earth - August 25, 2006
  200. Turnhere.com - Videos About Places - August 15, 2006
  201. Speech and Gesture Input for Google Earth - August 5, 2006
  202. Update to Ping Pong Ball Interface for Google Earth - Video - August 3, 2006
  203. Boys Use Google Earth to Find Bin Laden - July 30, 2006
  204. 1000 Pizzas Publicity Stunt Using Google Earth - June 28, 2006
  205. Feature Request: 3D Video in Google Earth - May 11, 2006
  206. Google Earth Sleuthing - Helicopter Shortly Before Crash - April 24, 2006
  207. Discovery Channel Releases Video Links for Google Earth - April 7, 2006
  208. Google Earth for VW Car Navigation Demo - March 31, 2006
  209. Dancing Japan - October 14, 2005
  210. Slick Videos of Google Earth - August 29, 2005
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