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How the new Google Maps redesign came together

May 20, 2013

Last week Google unveiled a new version of Google Maps, which includes native Google Earth support without the need for a plugin.  One of the other big pieces Google is working to include is a map that is customized specifically for each person.  As TechCrunch shared, the idea was similar to drawing a map on a napkin:

When you draw a map on a napkin, you are automatically filtering out the most important information, and doing it with your specific audience in mind. The result is a simplified map, that involves maybe a few major routes, as well as smaller roads, and a prioritization that doesn’t necessarily reflect how important a road is to the general population.

maps-napkin

The way Google is making it happen is quite amazing:

First, for a specific location the new Maps algorithm will analyze the entire set of people looking for directions in that area, and then highlight the routes that come up most often. Then from that subset they’ll focus in even further and weigh more vs. less important routes, based again on aggregated user data. They can see which roads are more popular, and then pop those out vs. the less important ones. Finally the less important ones are cut away, and you’re left with something resembling the hand-written map.

…

That then informs the UI rendering of the Map itself, which still retains the street markers for all surrounding routes. Lines along routes important to getting there are made bold and lines on less important streets are thinned out, but not removed in case some users still require that information. It’s about drawing attention and changing perspective, not eliminating something altogether.

While this approach requires amazing levels of computing power from Google, it keeps the impact on end user’s computers even lower than past versions, since less data needs to be sent out.

It was an impressive and informative talk, and I highly recommend you check out the full article on TechCrunch to learn more.

Filed Under: Google Earth Tips Tagged With: google maps, techcrunch

Google Earth arrives in the browser with no plugin required

May 16, 2013

The Google Earth Plugin has been an amazing tool to help bring Google Earth into the browser, but with the upcoming release of Google Maps you’ll be able to view Google Earth in your web browser without needing a plugin at all!  Here’s a quick video from Google that shows more of what’s coming in the new version of Maps:

There are quite a few enhancements in this new update to Maps, but the Earth integration could be quite compelling.  We’ve seen some amazing uses of the Google Earth Plugin over the years (things like youbeQ, concert seating, Ships and even a great flight simulator), so it’ll be interesting to see if this leads to even better projects.

nyc-maps

You can read more about the latest mapping updates on the Google Lat Long Blog or in this long post from TechCrunch. The new version of Maps isn’t available to everyone yet, but you can request an invite to try it for yourself at this link.

What do you think of these latest changes to Google Maps?

Filed Under: Google Earth News, Video Tagged With: google maps, plugin

New Terrain Mode for Google Maps

November 27, 2007

Terrain in Google MapsGoogle has announced a new mode called Terrain for Google Maps which lets you see relief maps of 3D terrain. This is a very useful mode if you are going hiking, mountain biking, skiing, etc. in rough terrain areas. Or, if you just want to get an idea of the lay of the land when you’re looking at the map. They also got rid of the “Hybrid” button which showed roads and labels when you were in Satellite mode. Now, when you click on Satellite, you get a pop-up choice to add “Labels” – which does the same thing as Hybrid did. Check out this new terrain layer for your favorite hilly areas. The detail is quite good in most of the places I’ve checked. Zoom in closer for more detail.
New high resolution terrain in Google Earth - Grand CanyonOne of the best features of Google Earth is that it is a 3D virtual globe, not just a 2D map. So, when you tilt your view, the terrain is represented by actual 3D data. So, you can literally see details of the terrain like you were standing/floating there. However, the terrain is only as good as the resolution of the 3D data. Most of the world is represented in Google Earth by data from US Space Shuttle missions at 90 meters resolution. You may not see small hills, boulders, etc. In the US, New Zealand, Canaries, Switzerland, and parts of Canada – Google has added new higher resolution 3D terrain. Most of the new stuff is at 10 meter resolution. In West Virginia it is at 3 meters resolution! Google seems committed to continuing to add more areas of the world with better 3D terrain data. And, they are now adding terrain information to Google Maps as well. The more information the better!
By the way, you can also look at shaded relief maps in Google Earth as an overlay. See the example below. And, you can also overlay USGS topographical maps to Google Earth.
Related:

  • High Resolution Terrain Detail Option in Google Earth
  • New High Resolution Terrain Western US and Canaries
  • Google Earth More Realistic High Resolution Terrain
  • New Terrain – July 27
  • Shaded-Relief Map for Google Earth

Filed Under: 3D Models, Applications, Google Earth News, Sightseeing Tagged With: elevation, google maps

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