RSSGoogle Adds Satellite Imagery to Maps
By Nate Mook and Ed Oswald | Published April 5, 2005, 12:00 AM
Google quietly updated its Maps service late Monday to include satellite imagery, a first in the industry. With images provided by DigitalGlobe and EarthSat, users can now zoom in on homes and businesses across the United States and Canada, even charting out directions over actual streets.
The latest update to Google Maps comes only two months after Google launched the service, in a similarly silent fashion.
Much of Google Maps remains the same - just with detailed pictures from high-tech satellites instead of standard map graphics. Maps can be dragged to view adjacent areas, which means users do not have click and wait for graphics to reload. Zooming is also instantaneous with the help of a slider placed atop the map.
A check of certain areas by BetaNews found that the images appear to be mostly accurate. For example, lower Manhattan was updated fairly recently, noted by color differences in the images.
Step-by-step driving directions can also be displayed over the satellite imagery. Clicking on one of the steps pops up a floating bubble containing a magnified view of the area.
The satellite technology comes from Keyhole, which Google purchased last October. With its integration into Google Maps, the company is opening the door to its high-tech images free of cost. Keyhole previously charged $29.95 for its basic software package.
I looked at my address and it showed my house as not being on a dead end street. It also showed several other streets in my area totally wrong. The data looks like it is old Census Tiger Server data.
I did not have a decent closeup of my neighboorhood. or any where in the area i live.
I did not like its searching because it over compensated for what i was searching for and it did not like putting in intials for the states.
I think it needs a lot of improvements.
JM2¢ worth.
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They need to include other countries too.
I want to see the Aceh satelite image too.
(Note: I already see it on Digitalglobe)
and the search is not good enough, try WTC or world trade center.
If you say it is old, try to look at the WTC, is the WTC still old ?
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At first look, I thought the satellite images on google maps rocked. On closer inspection, I realized these images are quite old. The particular image I was looking at can't be newer than late 2001. How deceiving!
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Welcome to the reality of sat imagery. What you discovered has been known about for, oh, decades. It's getting better. In my neighborhood the data is less than 2 years old. You can bet in the future there will be technology that gives more detail and more frequent updates, especially for major metro areas.
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GoogleMaps now supports Safari, which is another v. nice, silent update from those-who-serve-the-world, the GoogleMeisters.
re: Other services with satellite imagry: MapQuest had satellite imagery for awhile, but gave it up perhaps 2 years ago, about the same time they removed the "large map" GUI button, which changed the map size from about 460x350 to something like 700x500.
It probably cost too much to operate. But it was great fun to include a picture of someone's house in a greeting card to them.
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This is NOT a first in the industry. Several of the other mapping sites have had satellite imagery available.
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But none have seamlessly integrated it with an intuitive interface and feel as google has. This is as easy for grandma to use as a 5 year-old.
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I know the market is way smaller, but www.MapCity.com, a chilean website with maps to several southamerican cities, has offered satellite imagery for about a year now.
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i noticed this earlier when i was looking at directions today.. and all i have to say is wow!
not too long before google owns the world :D
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I can't wait for enhanced version-- i would like to be able to peer thru windows: and thus confirm my girlfriend's fidelity...
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I saw something on the news (i think thats where at anyway) a couple years ago that their are satellites that are so detailed that they can read the license plates on vehicles. Not sure who has access (the goverment im sure) though.
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The map image is at least a year old around my house.
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And dow would they do that if they are looking from directly up ? I think not
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Sattelites do not need to be looking from directly up... that is just most times the most useful view. But it is possible to take sattelite images under a, let's say, 45 degree angle.
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