Google Earth, now with 3D trees!

[Andrew Herron]

So it seems the new Google Earth provides a 3D view of the trees. I for one am going to love this since I can now check out the road network here in Michigan ahead of time. I'd imagine this could come in handy as a pre-chase tool for those storms that fire up in the Ozarks and other heavily treed areas.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/29/google-earth-6/

 

[rdale]

Just curious how they would know what type of tree is along that road of interest, and how tall it is? Sounds to me like this is more of a generic setup for urban areas?

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Right now the 3D trees are only active in a few select cities. Google was able to create models of the trees, then likely used street view to create the 3D maps. It's highly unlikely that there will be much in the way of 3D trees in remote areas anytime soon.

Only major cities have 3D buildings currently in Google Earth, let along 3D trees.

 

[RogerPemberton]

Are they gonna do real-time updates for when the trees get carried off by tornadoes?