American technology giant, Google, has reportedly unveiled an interesting feature, Timelapse, in its Google Earth app. In a bid to gather substantial knowledge about the world and to make the application more appealing, the new feature would allow the users to travel back in time and view the changes Earth has undergone over the past 37 years.
For those unversed, the Google Earth app is basically a computer program, formerly named Keyhole Earth Viewer, which offers a 3D representation of Earth with the help of satellite imagery. The satellite imageries used in the novel feature amounted to close to 20 petabytes and took approximately 2M hours of processing time across a thousand machines.
According to reliable sources, the feature would be a combination of nearly 24 million satellite photos that cover the entire planet. It would enable users to select any point on the globe as well as see its evolution over time.
The timelapse of the selected locations from across the world will be available for download in short video formats. However, the users who do not prefer to download videos can eventually access the clips on YouTube.
It has also been reported that Google has unveiled some guided tours in the new feature to turn it more interesting, using storytelling to explain the reasons behind the landscape changes. These include the depiction of the transformation of forests into towns and cities or the melting of ice in regions such as the Columbia Glacier in Alaska.
Apparently, the users would now have a choice to pick five stories that focus on energy, forests, urban expansion, global warming, and natural beauty.
Sources have confirmed that Google teamed up with the CREATE Lab located at Carnegie Melon University to roll out the new feature and garner an insight on the reasons behind the landscape changes to tell these stories.
Sources Credits
https://newslivetv.com/google-earths-timelapse-feature-will-tell-stories-behind-landscape-changes/