google earth

Google is reported to have spent millions of dollars on its Street View project. Roy Ragsdale, a student at West Point, has done a pretty nice job of putting together a portable panorama camera setup that includes GPS and Google Earth file output for under $300, using exclusively open source tools.

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.

Using Google Earth, his own legwork, and a slew of amateur spies, Curtis Melvin has mapped out all of North Korea's secrets. Called "North Korea Uncovered", the project has pinpointed everything from nuclear facilities to restaurants, from anti-aircraft arsenals to a waterslide.

Google Earth in its current form went live in June 2005. In addition to allowing users to fly to their childhood homes, zoom in on potential vacation spots, and explore under the sea and atop the world's highest peaks, the virtual mapping software has proven instrumental in a number of scientific discoveries -- several in 2009 alone. Here's a look back at some of the highlights.

Any guesses on future Google Earth discoveries? Will Google Earth be an ever-more-important scientific tool in the future? Post in the comments.

Don’t have the time or money to fly to Spain to visit the famous Prado Museum in Madrid? No problem. Today, Google launches the Prado layer on Google Earth. Now you can view masterpieces like Velazquez’s The Maids of Honor or Rembrandt’s Artemis in high resolution.

Crunching massive, geographical data visualizations used to require expensive mapping software and powerful computers. Now, Google Earth is becoming the go-to application for scientists who need a cheap way to animate huge sets of 3-D data right on their home desktop. These five projects show how a simple tool can reveal hidden patterns in everything from ash to emotions.

If the thought of planning a trip to the happiest place on Earth on a flat map online (let alone on paper) seems too dull—Disney World now offers visitors a 3-D interactive map on Google Earth.

The program allows for a more interactive (and fun) way to check out the park, letting you view photos, videos, and write-ups and better judge if Space Mountain is really worth the lines. It even shows the location of park benches; plan the ideal spot to rest your feet.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has teamed up with Google to give anyone with Web access a chance to see what life and conditions are like in a refugee camp. The initial iteration centers on Chad, Iraq, Colombia and Darfur.

Web surfers can explore camps through the visual, textual, audio and video information that's layered on top of the bigger picture. Pop-up windows throughout the images of the camps tell you what's going on, and what's needed. You can also move in close enough to examine the infrastructure, including schools and other facilities.