…and renders it as a 3D map, of course, with today’s debut of the next step in its map offerings, Google Earth.
The latest offering from Google called Google Earth brings an added dimension to its otherwise excellent online map service. The latest project draws from Google’s purchase of Keyhole Corp, a map making concern.
Based on that Keyhole technology, Google Earth lets visitors see a 3D representation of an area, based on satellite and aerial photos. That imagery consists of photos taken over the past three years. The majority of images Google has in its database are of the United States.
Thirty-eight US cities have buildings represented in 3D; these would be what Google considers the major urban areas of the country. Many more cities in the US, as well as some in Western Europe, Canada, and the U.K., show detail for individual buildings on Google Earth.
Google says it has thousands of high-resolution photos, showing detail of greater than one meter. The search engine company plans to continue updating its database with more images on a regular basis.
To see the Google Earth images, Google requires users to download a piece of viewer software to their local machine. A 3D-capable graphics card, like those from Nvidia, ATI, Matrox, and others, should work fine. Google advises that Intel 3D machines can use the default OpenGL version but work better if Google Earth is started in DirectX.
Google has made the base version of Google Earth available for free. Two upgrade options, Plus for home and personal use, and Pro for commercial use, require an annual subscription to be purchased.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
