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The Ground Truth project

September 12, 2014

We told you earlier in the week how the Google Maps data is not always 100% accurate. Google does, however, put in an extraordinary amount effort into making it the best it can be.

Google originally depended largely on external data providers for its maps information. But that changed in 2008 when project Ground Truth was founded. The Ground Truth project involves getting data from authoritative sources such as governments, postal services and map providers, which is then overlayed on satellite imagery and updated to make it more accurate. Google then uses satellite imagery and Street View imagery to add a lot more data to the map. It uses a variety of processes including a lot of manual editing by highly trained map editors, as well as a number of algorithmic methods, such as using computer vision to go through Street View imagery and pick out street signs, street names, business logos and more. Finally, they get feed back from users via the ‘Report a problem’ feature, or Google Map Maker.

It is important to realize that there is a lot more to maps than what you see directly in Google Maps. Google Maps also contains a lot of hidden information such as road rules, including speed limits, one way streets, traffic lights, stop/yield signs and no turn signs. These are used by Google maps when providing directions.

Google Maps contains a lot more than just street names.

The Ground Truth project is not yet used for the whole world, but they have been expanding rapidly. Ground Truth recently announced their 50th country. For the remaining countries they use a combination of external data providers and Google Map Maker.

For a more in depth look at the Ground Truth project watch this excellent presentation from Google I/O 2013 and read a four part series on the making of maps on the Google Lat Long Blog. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Is the Leap Motion the next great Google Earth controller?

January 11, 2013

There are a variety of neat third-party devices to help you use Google Earth, but for me nothing has been greater than the 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator. It’s a simple device, but packs a lot of power and control. I’ve used a variety of control devices over the years and nothing has even come close to the control I can get with it.
The next potentially great device is coming soon from Leap Motion. It’s a gesture-based controller that they claim is “200 times more accurate than anything else on the market”. Based on the videos they’ve produced, that seems entirely possible.

In the video above, around the 20 second mark, you’ll see them using the controller to control a digital map (Bing Maps in this case, I believe). It seems likely that it could be configured to control Google Earth as well. But will be a superior way to move around?
My concern is that it may be similar to the Sandio 3D Mouse that I reviewed five years ago, in that it could be difficult to perform more than one action at a time. With the space navigator I can pan while diving while rotating in one fluid movement. That could get complicated with hand gestures. I’ll be very curious to see how that works out.
The Leap Motion isn’t for sale yet, but you can pre-order one on their site for $69.99 with the promise of it shipping in “early 2013”. My pre-order is in, and I’ll certainly write up a full review once I get a chance to play with it.
Have you pre-ordered one yet? Do you think it will be a nice addition to your computer, or just another gimmick?

Google Earth Explorer: A fun way to fly through Google Earth

September 15, 2011

Paul van Dinther is at it again, with another great Google Earth script for us to play with. You’ll remember Paul from fun projects he’s built such as Ships, Helicopters, and Drive the A-Team Van.
He’s now developed GExplorer, a fun way to fly through Google Earth. It’s a physics based 3D view controller that allows precise and smooth control of the camera. It does this by combining keyboard and mouse input. Camera movement is in 6 degrees of freedom meaning you can look anywhere and go anywhere. It takes some getting used to, but works amazingly well.
It feels a bit like the controls in a first-person shooter, where you move around with the keyboard and control your view with the mouse. The feeling of smoothly gliding over the mountains as you fly around Google Earth is quite amazing.
Here’s a video showing it in action:

You can try it for yourself over on his site. Google has recently purchased GExplorer from Paul for the express purpose of making it open source. If you’d like to integrate it with a project of yours, head over to Google’s GExplorer project page to get more information.

Android and Google Earth Technology

December 13, 2010

During the past year I have been sailing through the Caribbean and the south Pacific and, after 13,000 miles of sailing, arrived in New Zealand. Right now, I’m back in the US visiting friends and family for the holidays.
Earlier this year, Google was good enough to send me an unlocked Nexus One (see GEB review). Increasingly, I’ve managed to use the phone – often without cell or WIFI connections – for a variety of applications. Google Earth for Mobile still has the ability to work offline, just like the desktop version. You just have to visit the places you want to store (while you are on an Internet connection) and the last 2GBytes of data are remembered in your cache. Then, when you have no Internet, you can still use Google Earth to re-visit those places. The offline ability can be incredibly useful since you often have a need for geo-spatial awareness when you are far away from a data connection (read my story on Google Earth for Sailors).
Keep reading for more about using Google Earth on your phone…

Geospatial Revolution: Episode One Released

September 27, 2010

Back in July, we told you about the Geospatial Revolution project that Penn State Public Broadcasting was putting together. They’ve now released the first episode and it’s quite awesome.
The first episode is about 14 minutes long, and covers a variety of topics. Most of it is a technology overview (“How We Get There”, “How We Got Here”, “Why We Need It”, etc), but also includes an excellent segment about Ushahidi and the great work that they are doing.
Beyond that, they have lots of great snippets of info from people in the industry, including Mark Brender and Matt O’Connell from Geoeye and Michael Jones from Google.
Check it out for yourself on the Geospatial Revolution site, or just watch the full episode below: