DigitalGlobe, provider of imagery for Google Inc.'s interactive mapping program Google Earth, said a new high-resolution satellite will boost the accuracy of its satellite images and flesh out its archive. The new spacecraft, dubbed WorldView I, is to be launched on Tuesday. This new satellite will boast 1/2 meter resolution, and will be able to collect over 600,000 square kilometers of imagery each day, up from the current collection of that amount each week.
Tuesday's launch is to be broadcast live on the Internet at http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/missions/worldview-1/
Once its third satellite is launched, DigitalGlobe said it will be collecting more than 1 million square kilometers per day of high-resolution imagery.This digital "refresh" of Google Earth's satellite imagery should help to improve it's currently patchy high-res coverage of the world, and bring some lesser-known areas into focus. However, there is likely to be a large amount of processing (i.e. cloud-analysis, selective "screening" of areas, etc.) that has to be done before the new digital data arrives on Google Earth, so don't hold your breath waiting yet.....
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4 comments:
Awesome, Google Earth, Google Moon and all of the mapping services is really bring the world and beyond to our fingertips in ways that I don't really think any of us imagined a few years ago.
On the crunching numbers note, I'm sure it wont happen overnight, but I'm also sure that Google will be getting right on top of it faster than conventional wisdom might think.
BTW, I linked to your blog here from mine under blog roll in the left hand sidebar. Really glad I found you and this site... good stuff!!!
Regards,
Richard Jones
http://www.lightning-alley.com
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your blogroll links, I'll get a link to your blog on mine ASAP.
I'm really excited about these new Google technologies as well - I just wonder how they get permission to use that high a resolution. They must have to do a lot of bargaining to maintain a database of that accuracy.
Thanks, and good luck with your site,
David
Great I'd appreciate the link back!!!
Yeah, I was always under the impression that the really high resolution stuff was reserved for more government type work. Unfortunately, in todays world... such technological feats play right into the hands of some not so nice people.
Regards,
Richard Jones
http://www.lightning-alley.com
Yes, anything can be used for evil, it's just a pity that products like Google Earth can get a bad reputation just because they are used by the bad guys.
David
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