A virtual global travel pass
THE PRODUCT
Google
Earth VR enables users to teleport virtually anywhere in the world. The free
desktop application, which works with an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift headset,
compiles satellite and aerial imagery to reconstruct a simulated globe that is
rendered from the user’s point of view. Users can explore any major city, rural
outpost, or childhood home. Since its debut in late 2016, the app has been
downloaded more than 900,000 times. It’s also gotten faster and received two
important upgrades: Users can now search by place name or address and use
Street Views to explore 360-degree photos at ground level—or even under water
in some spots. The experience can be so profound that researchers at Simon
Fraser University’s iSpace Lab are using Earth VR to study what astronauts call
the “overview effect”: people being awestruck after encountering a new
perspective on the planet. “I never strived to make people cry,” says product
manager Joanna Kim. “But if they’re crying because they just feel so
overwhelmed with the beauty of the earth or a beautiful memory, then I think
that is a success.”
THE PROCESS
To
counter simulator sickness, which often plagues users flying around virtual
worlds, the Earth VR team created a new perspective dubbed “tunnel vision”:
Anything outside a central, circular field of view appears gray and blurry. A
horizon line in the distance helps maintain bearings. Some smaller cities and
regions have yet to be densely mapped: Google hopes users will help by
submitting their own 360 photos through Street View.
BY BEN
PAYNTER
https://www.fastcompany.com/90227520/a-virtual-global-travel-pass
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