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1460514605Tech Talks00Tech TalksName: Harold Lee Presentation Date: Nov 18, 2016 Article Title: “You can now fly around Google Earth in virtual reality”Background Information: You may have felt that Google Earth could have been something more and something bigger; well now, due to advancement of technology and the birth of virtual reality, Google Earth just got a whole lot bigger. Google Earth VR is now pairable with the HTC Vive which can put you into an immersive experience around the globe itself. Article Link (URL): am going to read this part of the article:A virtual reality version of Google Earth is now available for free on the HTC Vive, letting users explore reconstructed cultural treasures, global landmarks, or (for some) their own homes in VR. Google Earth VR has been in development for some time, and it bears conceptual similarity to the version of Street View that Google released on its Cardboard and Daydream platforms. But where Street View offers strings of photospheres collected by 360-degree cameras, users of Earth VR can virtually fly freely around a topographical reconstruction of the globe, or take guided tours of places like Manhattan and Monument Valley.For now, Earth VR is Vive-only, although VR Apps product manager Mike Podwal says Google is “actively exploring support for other platforms.” It’s the second Vive app that Google has released, after popular painting app Tilt Brush, which it acquired along with VR development studio Skillman & Hackett in 2014. And like non-VR Google Earth, it’s a little rough — many areas are just flat maps with rough topography, not fully constructed locations, and natural features like trees are blocky low-poly masses. But as virtual tourism goes, it’s a grand option.Earth VR has obvious tie-ins with other parts of Google’s virtual reality efforts. Podwal and Earth VR engineering lead Dominik Kaeser see the project as a natural complement to Street View, although its full motion controls wouldn’t yet work on a platform like Daydream. At some point, the two could seamlessly blend into each other. Earth also seems like a natural fit for Expeditions, Google’s Cardboard-based VR education initiative.But it’s more exciting to think about what people could do with an open version of the app, or a tool like the non-VR Google Earth Tour Builder. You could embed your own stories into Google Earth, or link personal photo spheres to specific places. Businesses could offer a VR version of their neighborhood the way they might embed a Google Maps widget on their website. Even without this, it still feels like one of the biggest, most open-ended VR apps available right now.What does the video show? (Optional. 3 min max): No videoI think the most important part of this article is…: I believe the most important part of the article right now is when it states that there could be a possibility of the app becoming more open towards the public which can provide many benefits towards Google Earth and further enhance your virtual experience around the earth like linking personal photo spheres to specific areas around the globe which can open more paths for exploration around the globe. This could affect my life /society by…: This advancement in technology could affect society in terms of convenience. People like geologists and mainly those who study the earth and its properties can possibly save time and travel money using Google Earth VR to study the world through a more immersive experience. Although the scenery wouldn’t be as impressive anymore, Google Earth VR would be a choice of convenience. ................
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