Chinmay Bidkar
19 April 2017, USA:
Google has updated Google Earth and made it much more realistic and accurate than before. Now, people can choose their own destinations, as long as they know the address or name of the location.
The prime feature in the new Google Earth is Voyager. Google has partnered with the groups such as the BBC and NASA to add video clips, photos and text narratives to three-dimensional representations of particular locations.
“This is our gift to the world,” Google Earth director Rebecca Moore said while giving AFP an early look at the new version of the program that lets people range the planet from the comfort of their computers, smartphones or tablets.
Before Google Maps brought in real-world imagery, Google Earth was the place to go to for satellite views and 3-D images stitched together from aerial fly-bys. A software download was required, limiting its use.
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“The most popular thing people looked at on Google Earth was always [their own] home. The old classic problem was that people would ‘fly’ to their house and not know where to go from there,” Google Earth product manager Gopal Shah tells Inverse. “This is about bringing the planet to life; what’s a planet without people?”
With the update, Google Earth now works on desktop browsers. Google has a mobile app for Android but not iPhones or iPads yet. Google Earth VR is now available for Oculus Rift users who have Oculus Touch controllers. The application is free at the Oculus Store and Steam.