Applications

Bringing Google Earth to VR

April 28, 2015

It was recently announced that Michael Jones, one of the original founders of Google Earth, has left Google and is now CEO of a cool new VR glasses maker called Wearality. These glasses are unlike other VR glasses because of an ultra-wide 150 degree field of view thanks to patented fresnel lens technology. If you hurry, you can still join their Kickstarter campaign and get early access to these new VR glasses, which are reportedly awesome to behold. They are 88% of the way to their goal of raising $100K, and 8 days are left to the deadline.

I have always dreamed of seeing Google Earth done right in VR. Now we have someone at the wheel of a major new technology who has a serious interest in making that happen! You can already view Google Earth data in the Wearality glasses thanks to its interface with Google Cardboard, which shows StreetView data in stereoscopic 3D. It won’t be long I think before we see more Google Earth goodness from this company.

You can see a short (12 seconds) direct view of what its like looking through the glasses (view of a roller coaster) by someone who used their LG G3 smartphone looking through one lens (select HD mode for best viewing):

I’ve known Michael since he worked at Silicon Graphics over 20 years ago, and we have all used technology he helped create like OpenGL and Google Earth. The fact he has left Google to run this VR glasses company tells me he thinks this one will usher in yet another major computer graphics revolution.

Using Google Earth to assist with fire and rescue

June 2, 2014

Uzi Bashan, the Fire Officer with Israel’s Fire and Rescue Commission, recently wrote an article on the Google Enterprise Blog on how they use Google Earth and Google Maps to help with their fire and rescue efforts.

From the article:

After the devastating Mt. Carmel fire in December 2010, which killed 44 people, injured dozens, and wiped out nearly 40,000 acres of forest, senior officers at the Fire and Rescue Commission realized we needed a more advanced fire alert system. This prompted our decision to deploy mapping technology from Google.

Now, using Google Earth Enterprise as our main GIS mapping platform, each call center operator has two screens – one displaying information from the national system, and the other displaying maps with Google Earth. Google Earth maps, with customized data layers, are automatically updated in real-time to show exactly where fires are and which firefighters are the closest to them. What used to take minutes now takes seconds.

It’s an excellent use of the Google Earth Enterprise platform, and I’m sure we’ll continue to see new examples like this in the coming months and years as other organizes streamline their processes in a similar manner. Be sure to read the full post at the Google Enterprise Blog.

Meograph redesigns their application with a fresh new look

April 11, 2014

We’ve talked about Meograph a variety of times over the past few years. They have an excellent tool that combines Google Earth with storytelling, and it can be a great way to supplement a story with geographic context.

The design of the site has always been solid, but their latest refresh really makes it much better. The new design is much more visual, intuitive, and mobile friendly in an effort to make consumer content creation for brands even easier.

There aren’t any new features with this release, but we felt that the refresh alone was worth mentioning since so many of you use the tool. Look for some new features from them later this year, and go try out the new interface at meograph.com.

Do you think you know your aerial imagery? Find out on QuizUp.

April 7, 2014

A few months ago I started playing QuizUp from time to time on my phone. It’s a fast-paced trivia game that pits you against other players around the world in real-time. It has a very wide variety of categories, and you can get in and play a game in only a minute or two.

They’ve recently added a new category that many of you will find interesting: “Google Maps: Earth from Above”:

Each question will show you an aerial image and a bit of text, and you have four possible answers. As with all of the categories on QuizUp, speed is important. Go try it out and see just how good your geography skills are. You can download the app for Android or iOS.

(via Android Central)

Virtual Cilicia on Google Earth

March 10, 2014

We’ve seen a handful of “virtual” cities and countries over the years, such as Virtual Alabama and Virtual Kenya. The platforms give users access to a wide array of information about the area and can be quite useful.

Recently at an archaeological seminar held at the University of Bern, the Virtual Cilicia Project was launched to help gain insight into this historic area.

As with similar programs we’ve seen in the past, this gives great insight into the history and provides access to field research projects from the university.

To get started, simply download this KML file and open it in Google Earth. Use the various checkboxes on the left side of your screen to enable and disable various features as you browse around.

For more, check out the full post about the project here. Note that the page is in German, but your browser can likely translate it fairly well.