VerySpatial » VirtualGlobes

“Local Information is The Final Frontier”

Frank — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:41:36 +0000

That’s a great quote from Google Maps product manager Manik Gupta! What led him to say such a thing is that Google is now opening their map to user input. Users will be able to edit the map to make it better. They’ve already launched the tool in 183 countries who do not have an adequate abundance of “official” data. It’s like the world’s largest Participatory GIS project! If you want to get started editing, head over to Google’s Mapmaker tool and start adding information to Google Maps.

And if you’re curious who’s doing what, you can watch edits in real-ish time via their new Mapmaker Pulse tool. I gotta say, it’s fascinating to watch people digitize in real time around the globe!

Multi-Touch Spherical Display DIY

Frank — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:17:39 +0000

I want one! It’s a multi-touch spherical display that you can make for around $1,000. Oddly enough for such a high tech device, it’s got a bit of a steampunk vibe to it. The first example they use is the obvious Google Earth example, but they do show using it in other contexts. I’m not convinced the photo viewer or music making device really needs a globe surface. If you’re interested in making your own, the directions for building one can be found here. WARNING: The directions aren’t exactly the simplest to follow and I’d imagine there’s a lot of winging it involved.

Video preview of ArcGIS Explorer 1500

Sue — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:48:04 +0000

Via the Esri Developer Network Facebook page is a hip preview video for the upcoming ArcGIS Explorer 1500, complete with catchy music (Sorry the video isn’t set up to embed, so just click the image below to go to the video) -

Google Earth goes steampunk

Sue — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:54:04 +0000

I admit it, I love steampunk mods. If I had lots of spare time, and a little cash, I’d love to try my hand at creating a few cool gadgets myself. But in the meantime, I will have to be content to admire the handiwork of others, like the project John Knight is showing off at Maker Faire Detroit. Dubbed the “Electromagnetic Geospatial Globe and Remote View with Obligatory Goggles”, it’s Google Earth meets steampunk, with Google Earth running on a tablet, and controlled by the cool brass globe outfitted with RFID tags. Better than me trying to describe it, check out this video:

Via Gizmodo

Post-earthquake Haiti imagery now available in Google Earth

Sue — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:20:52 +0000

GeoEye passed over Haiti this morning, and the imagery has been provided to Google, with the resulting KML now available for download and viewing in Google Earth or you can see the imagery in Google Maps. You can also take a look at the imagery via the KML Viewer gadget embedded below. Other imaging satellites are scheduled to make passes over the area in the next few days, including QuickBird and WorldView-1 and WorldView-2, so more image data will be available to help map the disaster and plan relief efforts.

Via Google Lat Long Blog

Google Earth Enterprise 3.2 Released

Frank — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:20:10 +0000

The crew over on the Google Earth Enterprise have a new version to announce – 3.2. The fellows over at Google have had a pretty busy week, what with the big OS announcement, not to mention the offical launch of much of their product line, so it’d be easy to miss this in the diluge of information. However, this new version adds a lot of functionality to their product and it’s well worth checking out the blog for more information. Look for a good interview with Dylan, the project lead on GEE, in a near future episode!

Google Says They’re Not the Bad Guys

Frank — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:52:10 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald has an interesting article heavily quoting Google Earth’s project head John Hanke, “We’re not the bad guys.” The article goes on to heavily quote Hanke concerning the issue, but the gist of it is that technology is morally neutral. You can use it for good and bad things and it’s up to the end user to dictate the use. We talked about that point quite a bit in this week’s podcast. However, it think it’s pretty clear that nearly any technology can be used for both good and bad purposes. If you deny the good based upon the bad, is the net benefit to the public better or worse? It’s a tricky situation and has to be largely decided on a case by case basis, I think. In the case of geospatial technology, sometimes even on a layer by layer basis. Certainly the debate is interesting and I believe that geospatial professionals should keep it in the forefront in our thinking.

Google Ocean…?

Frank — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:48:05 +0000

PCPro in the UK is reporting that Google may unveil a new product in its family of mapping tools – Google Ocean! The application would feature topographic layers of the ocean floor, underwater photos, and even points of interest like famous ship wrecks. For those intreguied by the inner space, this should be great! Now call me when someone makes the first Google Earth Pirates of the Ocean Text and Map Adventure Game (TM)

Earthscape Santa Tracker

Jesse — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:39:02 +0000

Last night I downloaded and started playing with the new Earthscape Santa Tracker. This free iPhone app builds on some of the basic features of the full Earthscape app by adding Santa’s planned route for Christmas Eve. The app also features holiday themed photos that have been submitted by users of the full app. Since the app is free you may want to grab it as a trial version of Earthscape to check out some of the features.

Midnight Madness in Google Earth

Sue — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:26:55 +0000

A while back I posted about the Chemical Brothers using Google Earth to create a global multimedia project by inviting fans to submit videos to help promote the release of their new album Brotherhood. Centered around the theme of Midnight Madness, a song on the record, the finished project is now available to view as a video on YouTube (I’ve embedded it below) or you can go to the Chemical Brothers’ site and get the KMZ to see the project in Google Earth. It’s a really cool video, and I hope we see more bands and artists taking advantage of the technology for projects like Midnight Madness.

Via PopCandy