Google Earth

In addition to Earth navigation, Google Earth provides a series of other tools through the desktop application, including a measure distance tool. Additional globes for the Moon and Mars are available, as well as a tool for viewing the night sky. A flight simulator game is also included. Other features allow users to view photos from various places uploaded to Panoramio, information provided by Wikipedia on some locations, and Street View imagery. The web-based version of Google Earth also includes Voyager, a feature that periodically adds in-program tours, often presented by scientists and documentarians.


Google Earth has been viewed by some as a threat to privacy and national security, leading to the program being banned in multiple countries.^[8] Some countries have requested that certain areas be obscured in Google's satellite images, usually areas containing military facilities.

History[edit]

The core technology behind Google Earth was originally developed at Intrinsic Graphics in the late 1990s. At the time, the company was developing 3D gaming software libraries.^[9] As a demo of their 3D software, they created a spinning globe that could be zoomed into, similar to the Powers of Ten film.^[9] The demo was popular, but the board of Intrinsic wanted to remain focused on gaming, so in 1999, they created Keyhole, Inc., headed by John Hanke.^[9] Keyhole then developed a way to stream large databases of mapping data over the internet to client software, a key part of the technology,^[10] and acquired patchworks of mapping data from governments and other sources.^[9] The product, called "Keyhole EarthViewer", was sold on CDs for use in fields such as real estate, urban planning, defense, and intelligence; users paid a yearly fee for the service.^[10] Despite making a number of capital deals with Nvidia and Sony,^[10] the small company was struggling to pay and retain employees.^[9]


Fortunes for the company changed in early 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when Dave Lorenzini (Director at Keyhole) enticed CNN, ABC, CBS and other major news networks to use their sophisticated 3D flyby imagery to illustrate Baghdad Activities for viewers, in exchange for on-air attribution.^[10][9] During the invasion, It was used extensively by Miles O'Brien and other on-air broadcasters, allowing CNN and millions of viewers to follow the progress of the war in a way that had never been seen before.^[10][9] Public interest in the software exploded and Keyhole servers were not able to keep up with demand.^[10][9] Keyhole was soon contacted by the Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital firm, In-Q-Tel,^[11] and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,^[12] for use with defense mapping databases, which gave Keyhole a much-needed cash infusion.^[9] Intrinsic Graphics was sold in 2003 to Vicarious Visions after its gaming libraries did not sell well, and its core group of engineers and management including Brian McClendon and Michael Jones transitioned to Keyhole with Hanke remaining at the head.^[9]


At the time, Google was finding that over 25% of its searches were of a geospatial character, including searches for maps and directions.^[9] In October 2004, Google acquired Keyhole as part of a strategy to better serve its users.^[13]


In 2021, Google replaced its layers feature with a new one on its Google Earth software.^[14] This replacement consolidated some layers, but also removed some layers and features.^[15]

Google Earth Outreach[edit]

Google Earth Outreach is a charity program, through which Google promotes and donates to various non-profit organizations. Beginning in 2007, donations are often accompanied by layers featured in Google Earth, allowing users to view a non-profit's projects and goals by navigating to certain related locations.^[91] Google Earth Outreach offers online training on using Google Earth and Google Maps for public education on issues affecting local regions or the entire globe. In June 2008, training was given to 20 indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest, such as the Suruí, to help them preserve their culture and raise awareness for the problem of deforestation.^[92]


Non-profit organizations featured in Google Earth via the Outreach program include Arkive, the Global Heritage Fund, WaterAid, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.^[93][94]