Business Archives

August 17, 2010

Google Earth Enterprise 4.0 released

Called "The ultimate geo mashup platform", Google Earth Enterprise 4.0 has been released. You may be familiar with Google Earth Enterprise, as it has been used for projects such as Louisiana Earth.

Among the new features in GEE 4.0 is one called the "Portable Earth System". In many uses of GEE, people need access to their information in places where internet connectivity is limited or simply non-existent. Here is how that feature works.

Other enhancements in GEE 4.0 include Mobile Access via the Google Earth client on Android, full support for Google Earth 5.2 and the latest version of the Google Earth Plug-in.

For more on GEE 4.0, you can check out the full write-up on the Google LatLong Blog.


Posted by mickmel at 7:25 AM | Comments (1)

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August 3, 2010

Finding illegal pools with Google Earth

The town of Riverhead, NY, located on Long Island, has recently started using Google Earth to track down backyard pools that don't have the proper license.

pool.jpg

So far they've found around 250 pools that hadn't applied for the necessary license. When contacted and given the choice between paying the fee or facing heavy fines, most owners have paid the fee. So far the city has collected around $75,000 in fees.

There are two ways to look at a situation like this. The first is that it's a great use of Google Earth; the other is that it feels like big brother is watching. Which side are you on?

This situation reminds me of a few other stories we've written about in the past. Nearly five years ago, Frank shared the story of a tax assessor using Google Earth to spot changes in house lots (new buildings, sheds, etc) and making sure the proper taxes were paid on them.

The other story is even closer to this one; a pool guy finding prospective customers by only sending his mailing to homes that have pools. It took quite a bit of work to develop the list (search in Google Earth, determine the address, build the list), but now he has an excellent list of targeted prospects for his business.

Have you heard of any other examples like this? Let us know!


Posted by mickmel at 7:13 AM | Comments (19)

July 22, 2010

Louisiana Earth

In an effort to help residents with emergency planning assistance, the state of Louisiana has launched "Louisiana Earth".

As explained in the Google Lat Long Blog, the program is designed to help with the following:

Louisiana Earth was released as part of the state's "Get a Game Plan" campaign, to assist citizens in creating evacuation plans by providing access to all of the states evacuation routes, sheltering points historical hazard data and other information that is essential during an evacuation such as locations of and available occupancy of hotels, gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, veterinary clinics and banks.

More info about Louisiana Earth can be found in this short video:

As Brant Mitchell, Louisiana's Deputy Director of Homeland Security, mentions in the video, this is based somewhat off of Virtual Alabama which was released a few years back. Both programs are essentially a large new group of default layers to help provide a large amount of data to the end user -- evacuation routes, oil spill updates, and even festivals and events occurring across the state.

It seems to be an excellent tool, and could be of great value to the residents of Louisiana.


Posted by mickmel at 9:07 AM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2010

Team Vision Virtual launches 3dHawaii.com

Partnering with CyberCity 3D, Team Vision Virtual has released 3DHawaii.com, a comprehensive travel portal to show everything you need to know if you're planning a trip to Hawaii. The site makes extensive use of the Google Earth Plug-in, and showcases some of the stunning 3D buildings that we've come to expect from CyberCity 3D.

3dhawaii.jpg

From their press release:

Potential travelers who visit 3DHawaii.com can now explore the most comprehensive selection of hotels, resorts, restaurants, shopping centers, beaches, parks and visitor attractions available on the web, many in a 3D environment, to help them anticipate and plan their vacations and business trips to Hawaii. 3DHawaii.com introduces travelers to the many wonders Hawaii has to offer, in a captivating and engaging way. After exploring the options, travelers can make reservations using links on the site. Travelers will find aggressive rates for both lodging and activities. For hotels, travelers book directly with the property. For activities, travelers will book through MC&A, Team Vision Virtual's local wholesale partner.

"Hawaii's legendary landscapes come to life for travelers at 3DHawaii.com. We have invested in and published hundreds of high quality 3D buildings on Google Earth, which is going to drive a substantial amount of new web visitor traffic to our destination and our partners," said Craig Carapelho, CEO, Team Vision Virtual. Hotels, activities, shopping centers, historic landmarks and other venues featured will help solidify the decision-making process for prospective visitors, allowing them to actually 'experience' all of our state's destinations in 3D. It's the next best thing to actually being here. For hotels and venues that choose to participate in 3D Hawaii, they now have a new way of showcasing their property and an additional connection to the booking process."

It's an excellent use of the Google Earth Plug-in. Bruce Polderman, the Product Manager for Google Earth agrees: "We're impressed with 3DHawaii's implementation of the Google Earth plugin, And think its visitors will appreciate this innovative approach to vacation planning."

It doesn't stop here. Hawaii3D is just the first in a series of 10 markets planned in the next 18 months by Team Vision Virtual. Given the usefulness of the Google Earth Plugin for this type of project, along with the rapidly expanding install base of Plugin users, I expect we'll see a lot more sites like this come along in the next few years.


Posted by mickmel at 8:04 AM | Comments (2)

July 8, 2010

Want your home or business in 3D? Estate3D will do it for $99.

Many people out there would like to get their home or business modeled in 3D for Google Earth, but don't have the time or expertise to use Google SketchUp to do it themselves. Over time, Building Maker may provide a good way to do it, but right now it only covers a tiny fraction of the earth and the models tend to be lower quality than hand-designed buildings. What do you do in the meantime?

We talked last year about a few options. Concept3D and CyberCity3D both have packages available, and both do excellent work. The only problem is the pricing; Concept3D starts at $325, and CyberCity is likely in the same area (though they don't list prices). They're certainly worth the price, but what if you just want a simple model? Enter Estate3D.

Estate3D is a new service that will model your home or business for just $99. They'll supply you with the resulting KMZ file and they'll submit it to Google for you so that it'll appear in Google Earth in the main "3D Buildings" layer.

For $99, they'll do a single building that's composed of 50 faces or less; more than enough for most individual buildings. You simply take photos of your building, upload them through their site and give them a few days to turn it around. I had them do my house so I could see how the process worked, and you can can see the result below or view it in Google Earth (3D Warehouse, KML). It's a simple model, but they did a nice job with it. Along with the basic house, they added things like the front porch, back deck and the chimney.

estate3d.jpg

They also provide you with an embed code so you can show the building off on your own website via the Google Earth API. This means users of your website will be able to navigate around the model in 3D, right in their web browser. Here is an example:

If you have a model that you need done, I highly recommend you check them out.

A few notes about that model: The cut-off garage doors are a result of some crazy hills on our property, not the fault of Estate3D. Fixing that would require some terrain editing, which goes well beyond what they do. Also, the trampoline and fort in the backyard are not part of their typical package; just a fun bonus to enjoy. Estate3d will take on any unusual Google Earth modeling tasks you might have - if they go beyond the bounds of their $99 package you can simply apply for a "custom building".


Posted by mickmel at 9:28 AM | Comments (6)

More entries for this category:

  1. CyberCity 3D unveils the Sanborn Emergency Response Map - July 6, 2010
  2. StreetView finally heading indoors? - April 21, 2010
  3. Where 2.0 - Day 3 - April 1, 2010
  4. 3dBizMap launches first city - El Segundo, CA - March 25, 2010
  5. The Points of Interest return! - March 24, 2010
  6. Use StreetView to make Points of Interest more precise - March 10, 2010
  7. Want to work for the Google Earth Enterprise team? - February 17, 2010
  8. Where 2.0 2010 coming in March; Discount for GEB Readers - February 8, 2010
  9. Place Pages arrive in Google Earth - December 9, 2009
  10. Aerial perspective imagery - December 8, 2009
  11. StreetView inside buildings? - December 1, 2009
  12. Links: Full list of StreetView updates, TeachMideast.org, CyberCity 3D partners with HomeGain - November 11, 2009
  13. KML file that shows the October imagery, now updated in Google Maps - October 22, 2009
  14. Get your home or business modeled in 3D for Google Earth - October 19, 2009
  15. More 3D Cities Appearing in Google Earth - September 14, 2009
  16. 360 Degrees Longitude Book Using Google Earth - July 15, 2009
  17. North Shore City, New Zealand in Google Earth - July 2, 2009
  18. Using Google Earth to Review Urban Development Project - June 15, 2009
  19. New "Businesses" layer for Google Earth and iPhone Google Earth - May 27, 2009
  20. 3D Disneyland Resort Paris in Google Earth - May 24, 2009
  21. Where 2.0 - Day 2 - Short Summary - May 21, 2009
  22. Google Ads in Some Google Earth Panoramio Placemarks - May 6, 2009
  23. Links: Ocean Now, Michigan Earth Day, Goldman Prize, Convention Center, Queen Mary - April 21, 2009
  24. Nine Inch Nails Uses Google Earth Again and iPhone - April 7, 2009
  25. Google Wants to Hear Your Google Earth Story - April 3, 2009
  26. Links: Where 2.0, Map Lens, Historical Placemarks, Condé Nast - March 30, 2009
  27. Google Announces Two New 3D Cities - March 7, 2009
  28. Huge Update to Berlin's 3D Building Collection for Google Earth - March 4, 2009
  29. Links: New 3D Town Project, Model Underwater, World's Largest Ship Graveyard - March 3, 2009
  30. New York City in Photo-Realistic 3D Now in Google Earth - December 17, 2008
  31. Links: Going Sailing, Mumbai Attacks, Street View, South Africa Award - December 11, 2008
  32. Tomb Raider Challenge with Google Earth - December 3, 2008
  33. Links: Where 2.0, Weather Buoys, Argentina, Earthscape, MapMyPage, and more - November 19, 2008
  34. Peachtree City Public Information Interactive Map - September 30, 2008
  35. McCain Geo-Biography in Google Earth - September 23, 2008
  36. 600 Starbucks Closures in Google Earth - July 22, 2008
  37. GIS Data for Canary Islands in Google Earth - July 15, 2008
  38. Roses First 3D City in Spain for Google Earth - July 10, 2008
  39. Google Releases More Map Crowdsourcing Tools - June 24, 2008
  40. Where 2.0 - Day 1 - May 13, 2008
  41. Impressive Upgrade to Virtual Earth 3D - April 11, 2008
  42. New York Times in Google Earth - April 7, 2008
  43. Links: Digital Urban Booklet, GE OSX UI Tweak, Peru Meteor Strike - March 31, 2008
  44. Armageddon Pills in Google Earth - March 14, 2008
  45. See Guys Putting Up Sign on Luxor Hotel & Casino - February 18, 2008
  46. Links: Zillow News, Virtual Volcanology, Design in GE, GearthHacks News, Ski Time, VE Geocoding - January 18, 2008
  47. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  48. Governor of Alabama Unveils Google Earth Application - December 4, 2007
  49. Links: Tracking Santa, Netherland Statistics, Boat Parades, OpenAerialMap - December 3, 2007
  50. KFC Logo Stunt Now in Google Earth - November 19, 2007
  51. Armor All Promotion in Google Earth - November 16, 2007
  52. Defense Earmarks in Google Earth - November 7, 2007
  53. Google Earth Christmas Gift: 15% Discount on SpaceNavigator - November 2, 2007
  54. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
  55. Business Layers Have Reviews and Pictures in Google Earth - October 16, 2007
  56. Microsoft Virtual Earth Supports Basic KML and KML Searching - October 15, 2007
  57. Links: Google Maps Zoom, GE Pro Classes, 10 Features of GE, Arc2Earth V2, Spot Image Layer - October 14, 2007
  58. DigitalGlobe New Satellite WorldView I is Black and White? - September 18, 2007
  59. The Gmail Video Collection in Google Earth - August 30, 2007
  60. New Real-Time Traffic Layer in Google Earth - August 21, 2007
  61. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 8, 2007
  62. Using Google Earth and Web 2.0 Mapping Tools for GIS Visualizations - August 7, 2007
  63. News Roundup - Microsoft and KML, Minnesota Bridge, New Competition, and more - August 5, 2007
  64. Energy Production Information for Western US - July 17, 2007
  65. Largest Coca Cola Logo - Made from Bottles - July 12, 2007
  66. Pool Guy Taps Google Earth - July 10, 2007
  67. News Roundup - New GeoSearch, GeoWeb 2007, Traffic Gadget, Earthplot, Environmental Data - July 9, 2007
  68. OgleEarth Roundup: Illegal Fishing Caught, Picasa Web Albums Review, Geo-Ads Patent, HeyWhatsThat - June 28, 2007
  69. News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth - June 20, 2007
  70. Pict'Earth - UAV Aerial Photography Solutions - June 19, 2007
  71. Road Maps and Local Search for Sweden in Google Earth and Maps - June 13, 2007
  72. News RoundUp: Football Game, VesselTracker, Antarctic Bases, Egyptian Digs, 3D Cities Help, Chimps, Gallery - June 12, 2007
  73. Google Transit in Google Earth - June 5, 2007
  74. ChartGeek - Sectional Maps for Pilots in Google Earth - May 28, 2007
  75. News Roundup - GeoCommons, AC3D, LaudonTech Maps, MacFamilyTree - May 23, 2007
  76. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
  77. News Roundup: Amsterdam Google GeoDay, Google LitTrips, US Capitol - March 30, 2007
  78. Traditional Advertising Gets Boost in 3D Google Earth - March 27, 2007
  79. Google Earth Classified Ads by Safarri - March 26, 2007
  80. Movie Making Information for 300 in Google Earth - March 20, 2007
  81. gCensus - US Census Data for Google Earth - March 14, 2007
  82. Lloyd's Using Google Earth for Insurance Visualizations - March 12, 2007
  83. Major Layer Update for Google Earth - March 10th - March 10, 2007
  84. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 7, 2007
  85. News Roundup - Tax Collector, Google Federal, Virtual Worlds Conference - February 28, 2007
  86. World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth - February 27, 2007
  87. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
  88. Google Earth Advertising Gets More Credibility - February 21, 2007
  89. News Roundup - India Censorship, SightSeer, Plazes, Education - February 5, 2007
  90. Update to Ads in Google Earth/Maps - February 2, 2007
  91. Shape2Earth - GIS Data to Google Earth - January 29, 2007
  92. Dutch KLM Releases Air Fare Finder in Google Earth - January 24, 2007
  93. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
  94. Google Announces Aerial Photo Shoot for Australia Day - January 26 - January 22, 2007
  95. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
  96. SpaceNavigator Works on Mac OS X - January 9, 2007
  97. News Roundup: GlobeXplorer Acquired by DigitalGlobe, Conferences, Google Telescope - January 8, 2007
  98. Mars Sucks - A Game for Google Earth - December 29, 2006
  99. Amazing Implementation of Marine Charts for Google Earth - December 21, 2006
  100. NASA and Google Sign "Space Act Agreement" - December 18, 2006
  101. Trulia Adds Google Earth for Real Estate Searches - December 5, 2006
  102. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
  103. Exclusive Economic Zones in Google Earth - November 24, 2006
  104. Satellite Photo of KFC Logo and Viral Marketing Scheme - November 17, 2006
  105. CBS News Does Google Earth - November 9, 2006
  106. Baseball, 3D Stadiums, Videos, and Google Earth - November 2, 2006
  107. Cape Town Travel Guide for Google Earth - October 31, 2006
  108. Spanish Architecture Project in 3D by Tagzania - October 27, 2006
  109. Live Flight Sales and Driving Tips with Google Earth - October 26, 2006
  110. James Bond DVD Promotion Using Google Earth - October 20, 2006
  111. News Roundup - October 9, 2006
  112. Google Earth Enterprise in Oil and Gas Industry - October 3, 2006
  113. Ad Campaign for Saturn Aura Uses Google Earth - September 26, 2006
  114. Google Earth Las Vegas - September 22, 2006
  115. Roundup - Pillows, redtrails, earthpoint, Robogeo 5, libferris, virtual land rush - September 20, 2006
  116. Anousheh Ansari Blasts off to Space - September 18, 2006
  117. Interview With Michael Jones - Google Earth Chief Technology Officer - September 14, 2006
  118. Huge New Layers Update in Google Earth - September 13 - September 13, 2006
  119. "Prison Break" on Google Earth - September 11, 2006
  120. CBS News Does Google Earth - Missing Last Step - September 8, 2006
  121. British Airways Uses Google Earth to Improve Online Sales - September 1, 2006
  122. Turnhere.com - Videos About Places - August 15, 2006
  123. Campus Maps with 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 14, 2006
  124. Music Group Audioslave Uses Google Earth for Promotion - August 4, 2006
  125. Vancouver in 3D for Google Earth - July 21, 2006
  126. Weather Symbols in Google Earth - July 18, 2006
  127. News Roundup - July 15, 2006
  128. Magnalox Provides Live Tracking Interface for Google Earth - July 7, 2006
  129. 1000 Pizzas Publicity Stunt Using Google Earth - June 28, 2006
  130. Win a Free Trip from Surfing Magazine by Using Google Earth - June 21, 2006
  131. RoboGEO - Simplifying Georeferencing of Photos - June 10, 2006
  132. Digital Camera Illustrates Camera Shot with Google Earth - June 4, 2006
  133. Forbes Magazine Article - Maps Mania - June 3, 2006
  134. Pin in the Map - Keep it Simple - May 30, 2006
  135. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Points of Interest in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
  136. See More Recent Aerial Photos in Google Earth - May 22, 2006
  137. Google Earth Business - May 21, 2006
  138. Da Vinci Code Tour in Google Earth - May 17, 2006
  139. Ads in Google Earth - May 10, 2006
  140. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 9, 2006
  141. Win a Mazda CX-7 in a Sweepstakes Contest in Google Earth - May 1, 2006
  142. Mission Impossible III Promotion with Google Earth - April 28, 2006
  143. TheCity Local - Google Earth Dating Service - April 26, 2006
  144. City of Bergen Norway Makes Smart Business Move in Google Earth - April 10, 2006
  145. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 4, 2006
  146. Apple iPod Ad in Google Earth? - March 27, 2006
  147. Business and Google Earth in Information Week - March 22, 2006
  148. Track "Amazing Race" TV Show in Google Earth - March 20, 2006
  149. Google Earth E-mail Signature - March 14, 2006
  150. Bed and Breakfast Locations in Google Earth - March 6, 2006
  151. Here Comes the Oscars - March 5, 2006
  152. Eye in the Sky Advertising - March 4, 2006
  153. EarthPoint - Real Estate Listings with some GIS - March 3, 2006
  154. Arc2Earth Released - March 1, 2006
  155. Giant Frog Attacks Chicago - February 17, 2006
  156. Visualizing Controversial New Buildings in New York in Google Earth - February 6, 2006
  157. CNET Superbowl Guessing Game in Google Earth - February 2, 2006
  158. Win a Fiat Sedici in Google Earth - February 1, 2006
  159. South American Trade in Google Earth - January 27, 2006
  160. Sundance Film Festival "Event Map" in Google Earth - January 24, 2006
  161. KMLer for Converting ArcGIS for Google Earth - January 19, 2006
  162. Real Estate for Google Earth by Re/Max - Again! - January 14, 2006
  163. Top 500 Hotels in Google Earth - Travel + Leisure Magazine - December 28, 2005
  164. Adidas Promotion Uses Google Earth - December 27, 2005
  165. Company Specializes in Google Earth/Maps Services - November 28, 2005
  166. Ski Resorts and Snow Reports in Google Earth - November 21, 2005
  167. Everything You Wanted to Know About Singapore - November 12, 2005
  168. Example of Google Earth Ad - November 8, 2005
  169. EarthBooker - 80,000 Hotels in Google Earth - November 7, 2005
  170. Real Estate Interest in Google Earth Grows - November 1, 2005
  171. NewsGlobe a Geographic Locator for News - October 6, 2005
  172. Cruise Ship Positions and Web Cams - October 5, 2005
  173. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 4, 2005
  174. ~12 Million Google Earth downloads? Where's Mac/Linux Versions? - September 30, 2005
  175. Google Helps NASA - September 29, 2005
  176. Making Money with Google Earth - September 28, 2005
  177. Security and Privacy Concerns and Google Earth - September 13, 2005
  178. City of Portland GIS Adds 3D Buildings - September 3, 2005
  179. Business Opportunities and Google Earth - August 30, 2005
  180. Real Estate Done Google Earth Style - August 29, 2005
  181. ABC Primetime Uses Google Earth - August 26, 2005
  182. City of Portland GIS - August 25, 2005
  183. EarthPlot - Commercial Software - August 23, 2005
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