New project aims to combine Flickr, Google Earth, and "spatial location"

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Web services, Google, Yahoo!, Social Software, web 2.0

New project aims to combine Flickr, Google Earth, and "spatial location"

by Danny Mendez Apr 10th 2008

An innovative an dinteresting venture by the University of Southern California called Viewfinder seeks to spatially locate 2D pictures within a 3D environment like Google Earth. The end result places the pictures within Google Earth so that they seamlessly integrate within their environment. Can't picture it? Just check out the video after the jump, and check out the site for more information on how it works.

The goal is to eventually create a service that basically mixes something like Flickr with Google Earth, enabling users to view and post photos within their virtual environment. Flickr currently allows for geotagging, but viewing the pictures within their environment adds tons of more fun to the idea.

Perhaps Flickr should consider expanding its photo services instead of adding video, which it is trying to do right now, since Flickr users seem to hate the presence of moving pics on the Yahoo owned site. It seems a partnership with Viewfinder and Google Earth would be a better move, and -- since Yahoo's busy intermingling with all sorts of companies right now -- why not?

[via boing boing]

Tags: flickr, geotag, geotagging, google earth, GoogleEarth, pic, pics, picture, pictures, viewfinder

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

abdul said 11:11AM on 4-10-2008

Looks like a poor version of Photosynth to me...

Roy said 11:34AM on 4-10-2008

agreed

zkam said 3:34PM on 4-10-2008

It appears that Microsoft has put the Photosynth technology into Virtual Earth now. Goto maps.live.com, choose 3d on the map and zoom in to a city (once the necessary plugins are loaded). You can now click on Bird's Eye View, and this type of overlay occurs. (As you move the mouse around the map, different polygon areas are hilighted, indicating that there is a bird's eye photo for that area, just like in the aerial examples in the above video.) At the moment it's pretty slow but definitely very cool.

Note: I am not a MS fanboi, nor do I have any affiliation to them. I just thought it's pretty neat technology.

Samuel Lago said 1:00PM on 4-12-2008

The thing I reall like about this website is that it speaks for the people, really, I love the sum up at the end. Its hopeless (ahoo's mapping service) when Google has such a presence in one area other should work with it - rather than against.

This service looks very smooth and professional, its obviously a winner but I have to wonderhere in England with our problem of "clone cities" and how every shopping centers can look the same its just as well that GPS is going to make more of an appearence in products from >2009

I am really impressed with American universities in the technology sector, this is a great project. I hope they make it.

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters