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The Ground Truth project

by Timothy Whitehead on Sep.12, 2014, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

We told you earlier in the week how the Google Maps data is not always 100% accurate. Google does, however, put in an extraordinary amount effort into making it the best it can be.

Google originally depended largely on external data providers for its maps information. But that changed in 2008 when project Ground Truth was founded. The Ground Truth project involves getting data from authoritative sources such as governments, postal services and map providers, which is then overlayed on satellite imagery and updated to make it more accurate. Google then uses satellite imagery and Street View imagery to add a lot more data to the map. It uses a variety of processes including a lot of manual editing by highly trained map editors, as well as a number of algorithmic methods, such as using computer vision to go through Street View imagery and pick out street signs, street names, business logos and more. Finally, they get feed back from users via the ‘Report a problem’ feature, or Google Map Maker.

It is important to realize that there is a lot more to maps than what you see directly in Google Maps. Google Maps also contains a lot of hidden information such as road rules, including speed limits, one way streets, traffic lights, stop/yield signs and no turn signs. These are used by Google maps when providing directions.

Street View to Map
Google Maps contains a lot more than just street names.

The Ground Truth project is not yet used for the whole world, but they have been expanding rapidly. Ground Truth recently announced their 50th country. For the remaining countries they use a combination of external data providers and Google Map Maker.

For a more in depth look at the Ground Truth project watch this excellent presentation from Google I/O 2013 and read a four part series on the making of maps on the Google Lat Long Blog. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

The post The Ground Truth project appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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Could a conman get false information into Google Maps or Google Earth?

by Timothy Whitehead on Sep.08, 2014, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

We recently got a query by a reader asking whether or not it is possible for a conman to put a fake address into Google Earth. The short answer is yes.

Google gets its information from a large number of sources. The Earth is a very big place, so the amount of data involved is simply staggering. Errors, of course, do exist. These come in many forms, such as an island that didn’t exist, or the time that Google lost a city in Florida. When Google once removed the name “Persian Gulf”, Iran threatened to sue because the name is a very sensitive issue in the region.

Borders are often a contentious issue. It may be simply a case of borders being in the wrong place due to errors in the data supplied to Google, or border disputes, where two countries disagree about where their shared border is. Google method for the latter is to share data based on international mapping standards data – which they illustrate by showing disputed borders in red, or showing different borders depending on which country you are using the product from. Also, when new countries are formed, it may take Google (and all other mapping companies) a little while to update their maps.

One of Google’s sources of information is the general public via three main routes: the ‘report a problem’ feature in Google maps, the more sophisticated Google Mapmaker that Google released in 2008, and Google My Business (formerly Google Places). The last one is primarily for business address listings, whereas the first two deal with more general mapping information.
The processes for changing mapping data have a number of verification systems in place. However, since it is often impossible to verify the validity of all updates. Google mapmaker works on a system of reputation whereby your edits require less verification as you gain reputation. Google My Business encourages you to verify your address or phone number. None of the systems are totally fool proof, but the same system can be used to correct inaccurate data that works its way into the system.

map of fake street
An example of information that really shouldn’t have been allowed into Google Maps.

map of conman road
This appears to be a genuine road.

So why would people want to put false information into Google Maps? Here is a story of a restaurant which closed down because, the owner claims, its listing on Google Maps showed that they were closed on what were formerly its most popular days. His lawyer thinks that a competing restaurant sabotaged the listing. Earlier this year Bryan Seely went public, saying that he used to do ‘map jacking’ for profit but decided to go public in the hopes of getting a job at Google. As a publicity stunt, he managed to intercept calls to the FBI and Secret service by placing false contact information for them on Google Maps.

It is important to keep in mind that, for example, in the vacation rentals business where scams are quite common, the information in Google Maps may be correct, but when you arrive at your destination and knock on the door, you could discover that the person you wired your down-payment to does not own the property. No one wants that kind of thing to happen.

map of imaginary road
Imaginary road really exists!

Google Maps and Google Earth mapping data should always be treated like Wikipedia: an extremely useful resource, but not guaranteed to be correct.

The post Could a conman get false information into Google Maps or Google Earth? appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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“Why does Google Earth keep tilting the view when I zoom in?”

by Mickey Mellen on Sep.18, 2013, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

We’ve had a number of emails from users lately that are complaining that Google Earth tilts their view as they zoom in, and it’s difficult to get the view “fixed”.  In this article we’ll show you how to prevent that from happening, and how to fix it if it does.

First, you need to understand why Google Earth does this.  As they add more 3D buildings to Google Earth (particularly all of the new 3D Imagery), Google wants to make sure people understand that they can tilt to view the 3D buildings instead of just viewing it from above.

In the early days of Google Earth, the problem was the opposite — many people assumed it was a flat view like Google Maps and didn’t realize you could tilt your view at all!

Regardless, the “auto-tilt while zooming in” can be a bit annoying at times.  Fortunately, it’s easy enough to fix.  Go into your [Tools] –> [Options] menu, then click the “Navigation” tab at the top.  In there, click the button next to “Do not automatically tilt while zooming” and you should be good to go.

tilt-while-zooming

If by chance you find yourself tilted and want to get back to a vertical position, it’s very easy to do.  Just press the “U” key on your keyboard (short for Up) and your view will automatically go back to being completely vertical.  You can also press the “R” key (short for Reset) which will make your view vertical and also face you toward the north.

To learn more, check out this post for a full list of Google Earth navigation tips.

The post “Why does Google Earth keep tilting the view when I zoom in?” appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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Is the Leap Motion the next great Google Earth controller?

by Google Earth Blog on Jan.11, 2013, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

There are a variety of neat third-party devices to help you use Google Earth, but for me nothing has been greater than the 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator. It's a simple device, but packs a lot of power and control. I've used a variety of control devices over the years and nothing has even come close to the control I can get with it.

The next potentially great device is coming soon from Leap Motion. It's a gesture-based controller that they claim is "200 times more accurate than anything else on the market". Based on the videos they've produced, that seems entirely possible.

In the video above, around the 20 second mark, you'll see them using the controller to control a digital map (Bing Maps in this case, I believe). It seems likely that it could be configured to control Google Earth as well. But will be a superior way to move around?

My concern is that it may be similar to the Sandio 3D Mouse that I reviewed five years ago, in that it could be difficult to perform more than one action at a time. With the space navigator I can pan while diving while rotating in one fluid movement. That could get complicated with hand gestures. I'll be very curious to see how that works out.

The Leap Motion isn't for sale yet, but you can pre-order one on their site for $69.99 with the promise of it shipping in "early 2013". My pre-order is in, and I'll certainly write up a full review once I get a chance to play with it.

Have you pre-ordered one yet? Do you think it will be a nice addition to your computer, or just another gimmick?

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New GPS Satellites Launched

by Google Earth Blog on Jun.02, 2010, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

Every day, we rely a little more on GPS satellites for both work and pleasure. Along with items like your car GPS navigation system, many items in Google Earth (such as these ships, real-time air traffic or following Frank) require GPS to enable us to see their current location.

Last week, the U.S. Air Force launched a new satellite (the GPS IIF SV-1), the first in a series of launches aimed at replacing all 24 existing satellites over the next 10 years.

These new satellites offer a variety of enhancements over the existing ones. The most important part of this project is to simply replace them. Numerous reports are concerned that the existing network may begin to fail due to age. This will obviously remedy that.

In addition, these new satellites will provide a stronger, more accurate signal. Rather than the roughly 20 foot accuracy that you currently receive, the new ones will allow for accuracy down to about 3 feet. In addition, the stronger signal will help more GPS units to function properly indoors, which could be a big boost for various augmented reality tools that are beginning to find their way into the marketplace.

You can view the launch of the IIF SV-1 (aboard the Delta IV rocket) below:

The launch of the next satellite (GPS IIF SV-2) is scheduled for November, 2010.


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