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Timothy Whitehead

Google Earth automatically generated 3D areas

September 4, 2014

Thanks to GEB reader ‘ehog’ for letting us know that Győr, Hungary got the new 3D mesh recently.

Google first announced their method of generating 3D via stereophotogrammetry from aerial imagery in June 2012. As part of the announcement Google said that they expected this new technology to cover “communities of over 300 million people” by the end of the year. A year later, in July 2013, they were doing quite well and we counted around 150 cities with the new imagery. Progress continued, and in August 2013 Google announced that from October of that year they would no longer be pulling models from the Trimble 3D Warehouse as they wished to focus on more scalable methods.

This year we have covered the release of 3D imagery for Tokyo, and other Japanese cities, Christchurch, New Zealand, and London.

However, there has been no easy way to find the new automatically generated 3D areas that Google is adding to Google Earth. Google has not, as far as I am aware, ever released a KML with the locations as it often does for new satellite imagery.

Google has a list that can be found here. However, it is far from complete and even has some incorrect entries such as Forli, Italy which does not have the new imagery. It doesn’t even have some well known locations such as London, UK, which do have the new imagery.

The Wikipedia page for Google Earth also has a list of the new 3D areas, although it relies on helpful people noticing new areas and updating the list, and it, too, is not completely accurate. It does not, at the time of writing, include Győr, Hungary, and does not have all the entries from the Google list, such as Olbia, Italy, for example.

3D Mesh Map

So, we decided to create a KML file combining all the locations from the Wikipedia page, and the list from Google, and a couple of extras that aren’t in either list. And here it is!

We have included locations as given in the two lists, as well as the regions covered by 3D. We have made the KML a network link so that we can continually update it as we discover new areas.

Note that we have not included places that have the older type of automatically generated buildings that load as individual buildings. The newer method loads as a single mesh covering a whole area. Also note that the older type of 3D model does not display in ‘Earth Mode’ in the new Google Maps.

The best coverage is in California, and the worst is in Africa and Asia. Alaska is, I think, the only US state with no locations covered, but with its largest community, Anchorage, having an estimated 298,610 residents in 2012, maybe it didn’t quite make the cut.

If you know of any places not in the KML, please let us know in the comments below.

About Timothy Whitehead

Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Filed Under: 3D Models, Google Earth News Tagged With: 3d imagery, KML

64-bit Chrome drops support for Google Earth Plugin

September 3, 2014

We told you in July about the Chrome team’s announcement last year that they planned to remove NPAPI support from Chrome by the end of 2014. This includes the Google Earth plugin that uses NPAPI.

Last week, on Tuesday, August 26, 2014, Google released a 64-bit version of Chrome which does not support 32-bit NPAPI plugins, including the Google Earth plugin. I have tried out the new 64-bit Chrome and can confirm that the plugin does not work. It does let you try to install it, but to no avail. And there are no appropriate error messages, so presumably sites using the Google Earth plugin can expect an increase in support calls.

So, if your website uses the Google Earth plugin, what alternatives are available? Well, it seems that at present, there are not many. You can offer your data as KML files, which users can download and view in Google Earth. But then you lose all the benefits of embedding it in a web page, including all the functionality that the plugin’s JavaScript API allows. So although this might suffice for sites merely using the plugin to display data, for the majority of sites it will not do.

Google Maps now has ‘Earth Mode’, which allows you to view satellite imagery and tilt the view to see it in 3D. It is based on WebGL, which is the modern way to do things. But it is not yet a replacement for the Google Earth Plugin:

  • Its performance is terrible in comparison to the plugin.
  • It lacks the ability to display KMLs other than via a complicated route through Google Earth Engine – which requires a licence, except for very small data-sets.
  • Although Maps has a JavaScript API, it has very different functionality from the plugin’s API.
  • It does not show 3D models – only the new type of 3D imagery that consists of a single mesh.
  • Navigation is difficult, with less sophisticated controls than the plug-in.

It is likely, however, that improvements to the WebGL 3D in maps will be the way forward, although I have not seen any statements from Google as to what their plans for the future are.

Great sites like:

  • Google Earth Flight Simulater Online, which we told you about in 2009
  • A ship simulator from Planet in Action, which we also reported on in 2009.
  • Also from Planet in Action the Apollo 11 Moon Lander game that we told you about in 2009.
  • YoubeQ, a 3D social network in Google Earth we first featured in 2011 and they have been continually adding features since then.
  • A driving simulator from Frame Synthesis we showed you in 2012.

and many others we have talked about over the years, will be impossible to make without the Google Earth plugin.

Flight simulator online
Flight Simulator Online

youbeQ
youbeQ, a free multiplayer driving and flight simulator

So if you are still using a browser that works with the plugin, then try them out while you still can! [UPDATE by Frank Taylor: you can install the 64-bit version of Chrome and also still keep the 32-bit version of Chrome installed. So you can keep running the GE-plugin on Chrome. Or, you can run another compatible browser such as Firefox.]

About Timothy Whitehead

Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Filed Under: 3D Models, GE Plugin, Google Earth News Tagged With: chrome, NPAPI, plugin

New Google Earth Imagery – August 13th and 26th, 2014

September 2, 2014

We told you a couple of weeks ago about an imagery update on August 5th. Since then, Google has done at least two more updates, on August 13th and August 26th. Thanks to GEB readers André and ‘Munden’ for alerting us.

Google has updated their map and the second one was a particularly large update. As of this writing, the last update is in Google Maps but not yet in Google Earth.

Google Earth Imagery Update August 13th, 2014
Google Earth Imagery Update August 13th, 2014 – Larger version

Google Earth Imagery Update August 26th, 2014
Google Earth Imagery Update August 26th, 2014 – Larger version

Oddly enough, there doesn’t seem to be any way to permanently save the KML for the map so the only record I have of the August 13th update is a screen shot (top image above).

It is possible, from the Maps Gallery page, to download a KML. However, it contains a special type of network link proprietary to Google which displays the KML in ‘Layers’ rather than ‘My Places’, which is where KMLs loaded into Google Earth normally appear. Also, it doesn’t work in older versions of Google Earth. Most importantly, it does not remain across sessions and there appears to be no way to save it. Furthermore, being a network link, even if you save the downloaded KML, when Google updates the map, what you see is the newest map and you can no-longer view the old map. I am guessing that the purpose of this special type of network link is to allow Google Earth Enterprise customers to enable their users to view their maps without allowing them to copy all the data as KML.

Another interesting aspect of this update is some patches of imagery off the west coast of Australia in the region of the search area for Flight MH370. Google Maps does not show imagery in the oceans by any mechanism that I know of. Google Earth does show imagery in the oceans if you turn on ‘Historical Imagery’, but since the update is not yet in Google Earth, there is currently no way to view this imagery!

About Timothy Whitehead

Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Filed Under: Google Earth News Tagged With: imagery update

The best of Google Earth for August, 2014

September 1, 2014

August saw a number of data updates from Google including new Street View imagery in Indonesia and Cambodia, and satellite imagery from around the globe. The launch by DigitalGlobe of their WorldView-3 satellite, and subsequent release of its first images, means the future of satellite imagery looks bright.

Here are some of my favorite stories of the month:

We told you about how Ian Brown at Google Sightseeing shows off the ten tallest statues in the world.

statue
Four of the ten have 3D models in Google Earth

We also showcased CityRealty who have made impressive use of Google Earth’s 3D imagery.

CityReality

We also brought you a story about using Goats to combat wildfire in Southern California.

Goat Mapper

Also this month, I had the pleasure of joining the GEB team and am now the main writer, with Mickey Mellen, who has done a fantastic job over the last 4.5 years, moving on to greener pastures.

Which was your favorite story in August?

About Timothy Whitehead

Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Filed Under: Site News Tagged With: august, stories

Burning Man 2014

August 29, 2014

We have talked about Burning Man a number of times before (2013, 2011,2010, 2007, 2006).

Burning Man is a cartographer’s nightmare, because it is a city that is built within a matter of days, lasts for a couple weeks, then completely disappears, only to re-emerge the next year in a slightly different place, with a slightly different layout, and altogether new street names.

The official website provides an official map for this year, and for previous years. However, there is an unnofficial version to be found on Google Maps Engine here. When viewed in Google Maps, it is rather clunky unless you deselect most of the points of interest. However, it can be viewed in Google Earth by downloading this KML file. The Google Maps street map has also been updated to this year’s layout and street names, so remember to turn on the ‘roads’ layer.

burning man unofficial map

Also be sure to check out Google Earth’s historical imagery showing the event in 2006, 2009 (two different days), 2010 (four consecutive days) ,2012 and 2013.

Burning Man 2014

Burning Man 2014 night scene

You can also watch a live webcast of Burning Man on USTREAM. (Warning: includes audio and may contain bad language.)

About Timothy Whitehead

Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: Black Rock City, burning man

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