Google just announced the launch of their new Cities in 3D tool. The Cities in 3D tool is designed to encourage the sharing of 3D content and it's integration of into Google Earth.
"We're inviting local government to produce 3D data that they can make available to Google users so we can integrate it into Google Earth and provide a rich, 3D representation of their locality on Earth," said J.L. Needham, Google's manager of public-sector content partnerships. "We see this as a content partnership -- in this case a public-private content partnership in the sense this is the government making its data available to its citizens by way of Google Earth."
Source: Govtech.com
Cities in 3D is specifically geared towards smaller towns and communities. Currently only cities with large downtowns and business districts have been integrated into Google Earth. For the first time, smaller suburban cities and even rural towns can contribute datasets, which will help to create a much broader virtual world than exists today.
One of Google's motivations for offering this tool is to improve the experience for users of Google Earth. As more of the world is modeled in 3D, Google Earth will become exponentially more valuable for a variety of applications. According to the article on Govtech.com some of the industries that might benefit from Google's new tool include: Public Safety, Urban planning, Tourism and public input on new developments.
3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited about this new tool even though some might view it as competition to our current suite of products. As far as we are concerned, the more Google focuses on 3D products, the more the world will understand the value this type of media offers to almost all industries.
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