Earthware Blog

This project that has been recently completed represents a new venture for Earthware that puts our 3D and mapping skills to a new and innovative use.

Video: Stonish Hill WindFarm

We have used the plans from a local planning application for a proposed wind farm and created a scale virtual representation of the completed site in Google Earth including support structures and access roads. To download the Google Earth file containing this project please click here

The purpose of creating this video and accompanying Google Earth file was to support a local planning campaign the outcome of which was successful with the assistance of this video.

We at Earthware believe that this style of presentation is highly effective for a range of uses such as environmental planning or pre-visualisation as it accurately shows how a future structure will appear in the environment and the visual effect it it will have on the landscape.

As part of this video 3D models of wind turbines were built to scale as well as a local structure to give a real world comparison between the sizes of each. Below are the 3D models which you can interact with inside the windows by clicking the play button and following the on screen instruction to download the necessary file to run the player. please be aware the 2 windows will not run simultaneously so one must be paused for the other to become operational. Do this by right clicking on the viewer and selecting pause.

I would just like to say a big thanks to 3Dvia for their excellent model hosting service which provides these stunning i-fame viewers. If you like these models or wish to see other 3D models created by Earthware they are available to view and download from my profile hosted at 3Dvia.

If you are reading this blog and you have an vested interest in scale presentations within Google or Virtual Earth then please drop us a line and find out how Earthware can help you.

Chris

Multimedia Developer

In the February edition of Property Week, David Lawson’s article on Earthware client, NovaLoca, pulls out Earthware’s interactive commercial property as a key differentiator in the success of NovaLoca so far.  An excerpt from the artcle reads …

"NovaLoca is following pioneering residential sites by using oblique pictures that are more realistic, showing properties from above and the side. These come via Earthware, the interactive map specialist, which has been helping to revolutionise web sites with applications such as Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Getting such a heavyweight on board early enabled the operation to be far more ambitious than initially planned."

We were particularly pleased by being referred to as "heavyweight" which was uncannily apt given David hasn’t actually met our development team!

For the full article, please click here

We were delighted to see that our first interactive mapping implementation for a residential Estate Agent (London Executive) has attracted so much positive attention.  We were very flattered by the blog entry from a US based blogger on Microsoft’s Virtual Earth blog.

They wrote:

“”Why navigate to Bird’s Eye when you can just have it!” Cartographic and aerial/hybrid maps are still available, but with this functionality and user experience I can’t think of why you’d need them. Real Estate companies should take notice – the UI is fantastic – filters atop the map, no page refresh, short bits of information in the popups, sleek navigation, heck I even like the colors.”

For the full blog post please click here

The last 2 months has seen Microsoft invest more in Virtual Earth’s future than ever before. The two recent aquisitions to the Virtual Earth team seem to be building more and more skills in the mapping and 3d modeling arena.

In mid December 2008 Microsoft bought the UK based mapping provider Multimap. Multimap were one of the first internet mapping pioneers and have provided static mapping to both the public and businesses here in the UK for many years. In recent years Multimap have started reseller other providers solutions, including MapPoint and Virtual Earth and in the last 2 years have release their own interactive mapping solutions although I’ve not really seen anyone other than Multimap really use them. The real question is what does Microsoft want with Multimap, and where do they fit into the Virtual Earth team? It’s difficualt to see Microsoft continuing to sell the multimap products as there is little to distinguish them from Microsofts own offers. Multimap is a strong brand in the UK so I wonder if they will be used as the UK’s reseller for Virtual Earth / MapPoint?

Today a second related buyout was announced, Microsoft now own Caligari, the developers behind the long running 3d modeling program Truespace. Truespace owns a special place in my heart, being the first 3d modeling / animation package I used. Its simple but powerful tools made it a real champion of usability and I spent many an hour building model TIE fighers and animating characters. It would seem Caligari’s position in the Virtual Earth equation is more obvious, Truespace ‘could’ become the 3d modeling program to match, and infact beat sketchup. However what does this mean for 3dVia, the company behind the current Virtual Earth 3d modeling plugin? Microsoft have only signed a partnership with 3dVia so where does that now leave them?

It’s going to take a while for the dust to settle on these two aquisitions, but we will been keenly watching to see where the pieces land to hopefully make a stronger Virtual Earth offering.

To read the thoughts of Caligari’s Roman Ormandy about the buyout please see this post on the Truespace forums.