NASA and Virtual Earth team up to produce a wonder
People visiting the American Capital on May 7 will be the lucky ones. They will not just see Washington D.C but will also get a chance to view the wonder created with two giants come together. Microsoft Virtual Earth and NASA have teamed up yet again and are displayed to the public, a treat for the eyes. From Washington D. C NASA will release a 3D photographic collection of internal as well as external views of the reputed International Space Station, and will display the next Mars rover. The credit for the interaction and display of technology goes to Microsoft Virtual Earth's Photosynth technology that allows the users to form 3D images of places around the globe. Using Microsoft's Photosynth imaging technology, Microsoft and Virtual Earth developed hundreds of photographs.
Using a click and drag interface, the technology has enabled the viewers to zoom in on the details on the Space Station's modules or zoom out to see the global view. Photosynth enable public to come closer to science and technology, encouraging the people to be innovative and creative in their respective lives. The imageries displayed are not stimulations or graphical imageries but are real life photographs taken by astronauts while in orbit. Though you are not at the actual station, the images allows the viewers to go to the ISS in the inner mind.
The hardware used in the formation of the Mars rover is on display to he common public. NASA’s Mars Science Project used the hardware. The shuttle Endeavour is shown preparing for take off for the STS-118 mission launched in August 2008. While roaming through the premises the public have the flexibility of joining the 'scavenger hunt'. NASA has a list of items that are supposed to be found including a space suit, a bell that announces the arrival of the visiting spacecraft and a station crew patch. NASA's 'facebook' page and @NASA in twitter will display all the clues. Thousand of photos can be combined on a screen to present the 3D version of the subject displayed. This allows the users to smoothly glide along the science, and also enables them to view it from every angle.
Photo are literally 'stitched' together while generating a 3D model when the Photosynth technology analyses the digital photographs. Multiple platforms allow the viewing of these of these models or 'synths', using Silverlight technology. New controls enable the users to decide bout how to share the 'synths', by making the synths unlisted or public. Access and availability of synths is then available to organizations giving greater control over the visual representations of their specific premises. User defined highlights are now included in synths, enabling the synths to improve navigation and showcase key images.
Potential application of the new technology might be the sector or real estate and the housing sector in general. The other important technologies can be applied to the sectors of healthcare, tourism, media and entertainment, public sector, internal business use and retail.
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