Google Earth Shall See You

Augmented Google Earth Gets Real-Time People, Cars, Clouds

Researchers from Georgia Tech have devised methods to take real-time, real-world information and layer it onto Google Earth, adding dynamic information to the previously sterile Googlescape.

They use live video feeds (sometimes from many angles) to find the position and motion of various objects, which they then combine with behavioral simulations to produce real-time animations for Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth.

They use motion capture data to help their animated humans move realistically, and were able to extrapolate cars' motion throughout an entire stretch of road from just a few spotty camera angles.

From their video of an augmented virtual Earth, you can see if the pickup soccer game in the park is short a player, how traffic is on the highway, and how fast the wind is blowing the clouds across the sky.

Up next, they say they want to add weather, birds, and motion in rivers.

www.popsci.com...&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhigmRT6z1mLd S3uM9tjPIJEOKYEwg

[edit on 30-9-2009 by Unregistered]

Google Earth were basically snapshots. Now, they're going to make it real-time with people this time around. Nobody escapes their eye. I'd bet that Google simply got the go signal to release this technology to the public soon for reasons that I do not know. Maybe they got a see-through (x-ray-like) camera up there so they're throwing this tech at us to keep us busy for the time-being. Then again it's strange since this is problematic for national security. Maybe a disinfo tool. Or maybe they really have nothing to hide. Or they're pulling a Truman Show on us except that everything's top down.

reply to post by Unregistered


Seems like somewhere I read about burglars getting caught due to Google earth, and maybe even a cheating spouse seen going into the "wrong house"

This has lots of potentially good and bad implications!

I really want updated images. I'm working tree survey on an Audubon Center site and the only images Google Earth has are 3 years old. It's okay for placing data, but I'd rather have more current pictures.

This is great new, i'm going to make lots of money of this and lcd t.vs and blu-rays and jewellery ect, what's better ill know where the cops are too.

I see google earth as a very good tool. In the right hands.

But, as we all know, some of us have idle hands. And we all know what that leads too...

Seems like they should update it, though I don't think I need live video feeds of my front yard or birds flying by to be of use to me.

reply to post by Byrd


Oh I agree. I want to map out our land as we build on it, but GE imaging is too old.

Wouldn't this only cover areas where there are security cameras connected to a network? So mainly downtown areas or busy streets/roads.

Would be cool if you could track a friend as he's on his way to your house or something

Originally posted by Arbitrageur
reply to post by Unregistered

 

Seems like somewhere I read about burglars getting caught due to Google earth, and maybe even a cheating spouse seen going into the "wrong house"

I found a link to the story but it's a crappy source:

A FURIOUS wife has called in divorce lawyers after spotting her husband’s car parked outside another woman’s house — on Google

The images I see are usually a couple years old at least so if you see a car that looks like your husband's car parked there, it may not even be his car and that photo may be 2 years old, but with the new augmented real-time version, we might see real stories like this!?