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)

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  2. The Santa tracker 2009 is now live! - December 24, 2009
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  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
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  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
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  73. Making Better 3D Models for Google Earth - December 9, 2008
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  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
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  80. Sailing Passage From Exuma to North Carolina - August 25, 2008
  81. iPhone Earth App Available Now - August 22, 2008
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  85. More Bad News on Coral Reefs - NOAA's Google Earth Data - July 10, 2008
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  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
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  95. Google Earth Zooming Music Video - April 21, 2008
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  97. New Navigation Gadgets in Google Earth 4.3 - April 16, 2008
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  138. Google Earth 4.2 Roundup - August 27, 2007
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  143. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 8, 2007
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  146. The Solar System in Google Earth - July 18, 2007
  147. Solar System Moons in Google Earth - July 15, 2007
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  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
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  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
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  165. More Google Earth Video Demos - New video category - April 8, 2007
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  175. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
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  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
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  186. News Roundup - KML indexing, GPS tools, SketchUp PhotoMatch Tutorial, GE Blogs - January 13, 2007
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  188. Awesome 3D Buildings of Denver in Google Earth - January 9, 2007
  189. The Truth About Google Earth - January 8, 2007
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  192. YouTube Demo of SpaceNavigator with Google Earth - November 28, 2006
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  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
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  204. 1000 Pizzas Publicity Stunt Using Google Earth - June 28, 2006
  205. Feature Request: 3D Video in Google Earth - May 11, 2006
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  207. Discovery Channel Releases Video Links for Google Earth - April 7, 2006
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  210. Slick Videos of Google Earth - August 29, 2005
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