3D Dublin now on Google
Thanks to Google Earth, the homesick, the tourist, the town planner or the just plain curious can log on for a virtual flight over and around the capital and enjoy all that makes up our Fair City in glorious 3D.
From ChristChurch to Croker, the buildings that lie flat in conventional photography rise up along the quays and canals to give a truly unique trip through the streets and lanes of our biggest city.
Clicking on landmarks gives details of their history and spares the browser the bother of checking out guidebooks. Dublin and the Welsh city of Cardiff are the two latest photo-texture 3D additions to Google Earth, the online virtual globe, map and geographic information programme originally. The programme was created by Keyhole, a company acquired by Google in 2004 and it maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellites and aerial pictures on to a 3D globe.
With the 3D Building layer in Google Earth turned on, the viewer can fly to a destination of choice and explore everything from famous landmarks like Trinity College, the Custom House, or Christchurch.
Google Earth has the capability to show 3D buildings and structures, such as bridges, which consist of users’ submissions using SketchUp, a 3D modelling programme. In August 2007, Hamburg became the first city entirely shown in 3D, including textures such as facades of buildings. The Irish town of Westport was added to Google Earth in 3D on January 16, 2008.
Recently Google also added higher resolution satellite images of Dublin, so you can see people lying in the sun on Trinity College’s cricket grounds.
* http://earth.google.com
