Google Earth VR
Virtual reality or **VR** is a fully immersive computer-simulated environment that gives the user the feeling of being in that environment instead of the one.
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Key takeaways
- Virtual reality or VR is a fully immersive computer-simulated environment that gives the user the feeling of being in that environment instead of the one they are actually in.
- You’re not sitting back, scrolling through a computer screen looking at static maps.
- It’s free and a fantastic experience that you can’t describe in words.
Virtual reality or VR is a fully immersive computer-simulated environment that gives the user the feeling of being in that environment instead of the one they are actually in. Many video games have already developed the technology to put the user in an interactive world, in the driver’s seat of a car, on a battlefield, or even in your own little town. But, what about discovering the real world using VR?
How would it feel if you were to stand on the top of Burn Khalifa or to view the beautiful Taj Mahal from a bit closer or to fly over the Arc de Triomphe of France, live just by sitting on your couch? Well, a VR based application of Google can do that for you.
Original diagram for Techfastly by Vin Patel.
Since its foundation, Google Earth has been brought to various platforms: from desktop to mobile devices, from native to web. This article discusses bringing Google Earth to a virtual world that poses unique user interaction challenges and rendering.
‘We present solutions to help users navigate planet-sized worlds in VR without losing context or becoming nauseous. Google Earth VR, is the next step to help the world see the world. With Earth VR, you can fly over a city, stand at the edge of a mountain, and even soar into space.? This is how google developers had described their newborn.
What can you do in Google Earth VR? #
The app adds Street View so users can easily move between 3D satellite views. This highly anticipated update to Google Earth VR allows you to explore the immersive 360-degree images offered by Street View of 85 countries. Moreover, the giant search engine makes it possible to visualize almost all roads around the world in 360 degrees. Photographed and adjusted by the Google Maps teams, the images from Google Street View makes it easy to orient yourself, discover a place virtually, and navigate freely in almost any city in the world.
The new feature is relatively easy to navigate; users can zoom in on a location using VR gear, and can pull up a lens to take a look directly into the 360 sphere. You’ll not be able to do anything abnormal, like walk around the photos. Still, this update gets you closer to the action, gives you a superpower of teleportation so you can travel all around the world in a few seconds.
Original diagram for Techfastly by Vin Patel.
Ten years after its creation, Street View has just been integrated with Google Earth VR. Thus, users can now walk the streets of the whole world in virtual reality, in the first-hand view, on a human scale, just like in real life.
For many people, a dream came true. Many internet users enjoy spending hours wandering around the world using Street View. Thanks to this update, it will now be possible to do so in an immersive and natural way. You’re not sitting back, scrolling through a computer screen looking at static maps. You’re freaking Superman!
Fly through the Eiffel Tour or over major cities and landmarks. Or, maybe you want to teleport to destinations around the globe in an instant! Experience familiar places in a whole new way, and explore new places in an exceptional and unusual way never before possible.
As users fly around the world in Google Earth VR, available streets for ‘Street View Mode? will be indicated by spheres. As in the web version or mobile app, users will be able to use their controllers to move forward, backward, or spin around. This new update also improves the loading speed of the application.
Original diagram for Techfastly by Vin Patel.
In addition to that, you can zoom down to street level and explore through the Google Street View database. While the smells and the sounds are not included yet, it’s almost convincing enough to believe you are really there in person. You can also enjoy virtual tourism with hand-picked destinations and special cinematic presentations. This free app is a great way to place virtual learning by letting students travel around the earth and explore our planet. You can check this link to know more about the making of the Google Earth VR application:
This significant improvement to Google Earth VR represents a new milestone for VR tourism. The next step will of course be to be able to walk, not in photographed streets, but in real-time filmed streets. Afterward, we can also imagine the possibility of breathing the smells, hearing the sounds, feeling the local wind. Of course, such a technological breakthrough will certainly not come for several decades, but Street View VR is the first step in that direction.
Required Essentials #
The essentials that one requires to enter into the world of VR are a smart-phone, a PC, or a similar console to run the application, a headset to hold the view for you in front of your eyes, and other inputs to control your movements (VR controllers). This technology aims to make your experience as real as possible. This technology is so developed that it is working smoothly on almost every android set, which is contrary to other similar techno giants like HTC and Samsung.
You can find the answer to different questions about the app, such as What does Google Earth VR cost? Or Can I use Google Earth VR without room tracking? You can find the answers here.
To conclude, if you’ve got an HTC Vive, Vive Pro, or an Oculus Rift, there’s no reason you shouldn’t download and try Google Earth VR. It’s free and a fantastic experience that you can’t describe in words. You have to try to see whether or not you will enjoy it.
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