8 ms·
Nokia Maps 3D (WebGL)
- unwind 15y agoFantastic. Is there a way to create a link to a given viewpoint location/direction/zoomlevel? That would make it possible to share views of the world, always nice. When zoomed into an area for which there is 3D building coverage, it feels almost game-like. And I say that from a vantage point of some relevance. :)
- rev087 15y agoI wonder how photography will be affected by this sort of technology in the not so distant future, as the images and point cloud data increase in definition. For instance, instead of waiting for the perfect weather conditions for the desired picture, the "photographer" could simply manipulate lighting and such, then render the scene in high definition.
- Gerdus 15y agovery cool. the satellite imagery seems both more detailed and more recent than Google's.
- MindTwister 15y agoCame here to say the same, google maps imagery of my area is about 7-10 years old.
- Spearchucker 15y agoI was convinced the CIA was watching me, because I've been checking Google Maps for over a year now and the same white van's been parked outside my house for all that time. I just saw that on Nokia maps it's left. Thank goodness!
- iaskwhy 15y agoIn my area (Canary Wharf in London) with Google I can see the Crossrail works going on but there nothing happening on the Nokia maps so Google is more recent here.
- micheljansen 15y agoSmooth as butter! Too bad there is no way to search or get permalinks to specific location-view combinations, but hey, it's a demo :)
- jasondavies 15y agoI think this is destined to eventually replace their plugin-based version at http://maps.nokia.com/ http://maps.nokia.com/ - at least for WebGL browsers.
- robin_reala 15y agoI wonder if MS will ever support WebGL? When they had 95% market share they could afford to not support new tech safe in the knowledge that the rest of the industry wouldn’t bother coding to it. Now they’re sub-50% in a lot of sectors and there are a lot of visually impressive tech demos coming out that they don’t support.
- emehrkay 15y agoThey probably won't, which is why in an earlier thread I said that IEN will always be IE6. My assumption would be that they'd do something along the lines of webDirectX and we'd have to create a shim to give it a common interface.
- technoslut 15y agoI disagree. I think they're hand is going to be forced because the future is mobile which IE does not control. I wouldn't even be surprised if MS adopts Webkit. For MS to leverage IE 'dominance' would be a losing game. They no longer have control over the web. I have no doubt that MS will attempt to control the web with W8 but I think they will lose and do so quickly.
- ugh 15y agoHm, I’m not sure whether it’s in Microsoft’s best interest to adopt Webkit. I think they will stay with their own rendering engine. But – as is already obvious – dominance is indeed no longer something they have, will realistically achieve ever again or are able to leverage. If they want to have any say at all when it comes to the web’s future they have to play the standards game. They have to cooperate. Microsoft is keenly aware of that (though maybe not entirely comfortable), as is evident from the direction they took with IE.
- bluena 15y agoWho thinks it's better than Google maps?
- slug 15y agoIt looks as good or better than google earth, particularly the trees, but the (texture) caching seems to be limited, which could be obviated by using local storage.
- untog 15y agoEr, not me. Where's the search box? Stuff like this does look genuinely awesome, but Google Maps provides a whole different set of functionality. Searching, routing, etc.
- juhanaj 15y agoThis is basically just a WebGL demo. For actual Nokia Maps (with search and routing) go to http://maps.nokia.com/ http://maps.nokia.com/
- artursapek 15y agoWell, what Nokia has done is better than the way Google has it set up. At least for advanced machines that can run it. But I'm sure Google will catch up when it's a reliable standard.
- kalleboo 15y agoGoogle has their own WebGL demo which isn't anything like this http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3106658 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3106658
- artursapek 15y agoI've played with their streetview transition in GL... really nice.
- cpolk 15y ago
- potyl 15y agoIt's really nice! I hope that Nokia releases this eventually.
- jasondavies 15y agoPresumably this is a precursor to replacing their 3D plugin version at http://maps.nokia.com/ http://maps.nokia.com/ - at least for browsers that support WebGL.
- smhinsey 15y agoWow, I am impressed with how responsive that is. I'm on an Air and I generally don't have good experiences with this sort of thing.
- blub 15y agoWhat is the config if I may ask? I'm thinking of getting an Air for dev work (13" 2011 model).
- cscheid 15y agoI have the 4GB 11" Air, and it's quickly becoming my favorite dev machine, even when I'm next to a monster dual quad core Xeon box. The Intel card is fairly slow at pushing pixels around (so if you develop graphics you'll notice slow texture access, etc.), but is mostly capable. The simple deciding factor is a SSD in the laptop. It's hard to overstate how much of a performance difference these make in compiling, localhost-served webpages, etc.
- blub 15y agoI am almost certain I will get the Air, it's turned into a very capable machine in the latest iteration. Thanks.
- smhinsey 15y agoNo problem. I believe mine is a late 2010 model. It has the 1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM. It's 11'' rather than 13''. Performance is generally excellent and it's probably the best computer I've ever owned in terms of outright utility simply because it's approximately the size of a Kindle DX and I can take it anywhere without a thought. The fact that it's usable and responsive essentially instantly after opening the lid is also huge. The only real problem comes with pushing pixels around, as the other reply mentioned. I can watch QT video fine, but if I go to Vimeo or YouTube, I can't really get a good playback out of Flash. Generally Flash is bad on this machine. I'm a long time Mac user so I'm not too unused to this, but it seems a little worse than on an iMac or something like that. I think if you use an IDE for dev work you should check it out at an Apple Store or something to make sure the resolution works for you. That's really the only thing I'd consider. My 11'' is really just too small to me, having been spoiled by dual 30''s on my desktop. If you use a text editor or vim/emacs it'll probably be fine, but IntelliJ or Eclipse or whatever just have too many windows to manage in the space, in my opinion.
- digitalnalogika 15y agoDoes anyone else have all text on globe upside-down?
- megablast 15y agoAre you in Australia? Just kidding, since I don't have the latest version of Firefox, despite clicking the check for updates box, I can not check this out. I even tried downloading chrome but it failed. Naturally google needs javascript to let me download a file, and even when it was enabled it did not download.
- FredBrach 15y agoI wonder how do they get the building facade textures/polys... It seems they have not only vertical satelite shots but also inclined ones.
- bthomas 15y agoIs there a writeup anywhere on how this is done?
- roadnottaken 15y agoIt looks like only the cities that are labeled have 3D data (buildings etc), but those that do look phenomenal. Even the trees look pretty good!
- te0006 15y agoNo, unlisted cities may be partially covered. There is quite an amount of coverage for Berlin, Germany, for example (far from complete though).
- iconfinder 15y agoI just checked Copenhagen and it has 3d buildings as well.
- FredBrach 15y agoNot bug free: http://fredbrach.posterous.com/pas-de-sujet http://fredbrach.posterous.com/pas-de-sujet This is the limit between the 3D data and the flat ones.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- cpa 15y agoNo scale? Not a map.
- jamesbkel 15y agoWow. Very impressive. I'm in Boston and was able to pull an almost disturbingly detailed 3d view of my balcony.
- freehunter 15y agoFirst time I saw Google Street View, I was sitting on my balcony with my laptop. I looked at the Google image for my street, and it was me sitting on the balcony with my laptop. I had to do a double-take before I realized the picture was taken a few weeks prior.
- adam-a 15y agoIncludes anaglyph 3d mode too if you put "nw.setRedBlueStereo(true, 10.0, 10.0)" in your js console.
- feralchimp 15y agoOn Safari: This requires latest Chrome or Firefox. On latest Chrome: There was a WebGL compatibility problem. Please check system settings. Yay standards?
- artursapek 15y ago16.0.912.63 Chrome on OSX here, works beautifully
- templaedhel 15y agoSame on windows7.
- shimi 15y agoNo go here, same chrome version...
- r4vik 15y agochrome detects if your graphics card is on some whitelist of gcards known to work with webGL. you can override (force on) this in chrome:flags I believe
- artursapek 15y agoWoah, what? Why have I not seen chrome:flags before? This is like Christmas
- YourAnMoran 15y agoThe production version of Nokia Maps 3D requires a proprietary browser plugin to run. This is an immense improvement to the right direction.
- freehunter 15y agoIt really kind of irks me when people complain about standards in a web demo. HTML5 is not standardized. These demos are no more than POCs written to show what the technology is capable of and where the organization sees themselves going forward. When you see run-the-business type web apps being written in non standard technology, then you can complain. When you see a neat toy being written in non standard technology, take it for what it is.
- twp 15y agoThis is a really impressive demo. Most virtual globes (e.g. Google Earth) separate the terrain, surface image and building data. Normally, these are sent to the client separately and merged in the graphics card: the surface image is texture mapped onto the terrain, and then the building data is drawn separately on top. Special routines are used to draw trees (e.g. billboards). What Nokia have done here is to merge everything - terrain, surface image, buildings and trees - into the same model. They're still using the classic chunked level of detail approach, just with more complex models, which the graphics card handles with ease. This requires more work on the server side to prepare the data, but once it is done it is really fast for the client. The main disadvantage is that the data ends up being very static - you can't move objects around, for example. P.S. I'm currently working on open source WebGL globes like OpenWebGlobe (www.openwebglobe.org) and WebGLEarth (www.webglearth.org). If you're interested in this sort of thing, I recommend reading www.virtualglobebook.com .
- FredBrach 15y agoMmmh sorry but I have to disagree with you. I can't let you tell this without some corrections, non-expert people could take it as it is. In short, your post is mainly uninformative. >> Normally, these are sent to the client separately and merged in the graphics card It means nothing. You moreover can't really know what the batching and draw calls scheme is in google earth nor in this nokia 3D maps. >> Special routines are used to draw trees (e.g. billboards). Mmmh. Ok ok. 3d applications are complicated, there is special routines for a lot of things btw... >> What Nokia have done here is to merge everything - terrain, surface image, buildings and trees - into the same model. I agree with that.. vulgarly. It does not mean there is one mesh and it isn't. It can be confusing. What you mean is there is one skin. >> They're still using the classic chunked level of detail approach, just with more complex models, which the graphics card handles with ease. You don't know what the chunks and lod algorithm is and i guess it might be very innovative. Or not. Well but you are talking about the global chunked lod approach so you re right, but it can be very confusing. The LOD algorithm is probably very innovative. >> This requires more work on the server side to prepare the data, but once it is done it is really fast for the client. The main disadvantage is that the data ends up being very static - you can't move objects around, for example. This is just false. Please don't take it bad, people may be deceived by that and this is as false as possible. There is actually no benefit to explain why but it could looks like "there isn't any more server side preparation because the mesh is not construct on the fly, this is not faster in the client - you can't say it - it depends highly on the draw calls scheme, the vertex complexity, the textures fetches etc. etc. and the data are static you are right but yeah it is highly doubtful - 3D programmers are smart, take the example of moving BSPs in the quake engine, who could have say that BSPs can move...". Anyway, thank you very much for the links and references, they are pretty interresting. edit: please note that I'm trying to do all the efforts to make this post as constructive as possible.
- nobody_nowhere 15y agoThe mapping team at Nokia is by far the best software development team in the organization (maybe with the exception of Trolltech/qt), and it's surviving the MSFT integration. It's (largely) the legacy of the successful acquisition of Gate5 in Berlin -- and somehow the team there was able to resist full assimilation into the Borg. I was talking to a Nokian today who commented that in Nokia, "Berlin is the new Helsinki".
- Spearchucker 15y agoYour friend is right. I freelanced there earlier this year to create a prototype of Ovi Maps on Windows Phone. I couldn't stay on to see the production version through (commitments in London), but what they shipped on the Lumia (Maps and Drive) is awesome. [Edit] Earlier LAST year, this year's only a few days old ;-)
- rospaya 15y agoNokia (Ovi) Maps was always the best built in GPS solution for smartphones.
- Niten 15y agoCan anyone fill us in on how they're collecting such accurate 3D detail for all these buildings? I mean are they flying airplanes with 360 degree cameras over the major cities at low altitude, for instance?
- andreadallera 15y agoI'd really like to know that too. Also, are they collecting data themselves? If not, where are they getting it from?
- Spearchucker 15y agoIt's based on a virtual cityscape, which is painted with images taken much like StreeView's. The 3D models are built with data from Navteq's Journey View system, using lidar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIDAR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIDAR). Photos are then stitched and rendered onto the 3D models.
- megrimlock 15y agoThanks for the details! This technique works surprisingly well. (One of the artifacts I was able to find is at the base of the Bay Bridge in SF's SOMA -- there's a vertical wall that has the street surface projected up along it rather than an actual hole underneath the bridge. That does seem like a challenging case for airborne lidar + stitching.) Another impressive spot is the top of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas -- it manages to capture the spike at the top fairly well. It'd be interesting to know how much hand-editing they did for sites of interest like that, and how they represent hand-edits in a way that can be re-applied when new lidar datasets come in.
- Geee 15y agoThey explain it in the making of video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKttWFcJ_g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKttWFcJ_g Basically it's car's with LIDAR and photos, planes and satellites. The LIDAR data is also used in the Nokia City Scene app http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MxnUAVhdnU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MxnUAVhdnU Worth noticing is that you can click on every building i.e. 3D information is combined with regular streetview data.
- Zirro 15y agoIt didn't even increase the speed of my computers fans from lowest point. And normally, a YouTube-video can be enough to do that. That's impressive. Nokia scores a point with me here, if they keep delivering things like this I may even consider buying one of their phones one day.
- tomelders 15y agoyeah, that's pretty cool.
- acgourley 15y agoI've been wanting an API key to nokia's 3D maps for a while. There are a lot of gaming possibilities there.
- suyash 15y agoIsn't the WebGL stuff done by Navteq, that's who the copyright says.
- recoiledsnake 15y agoNokia owns Navteq.
- nielsbot 15y agodowntown Chicago is lots of fun
- kordless 15y agoHere's the APIs for the older version: http://api.maps.nokia.com/ http://api.maps.nokia.com/. Hopefully they'll be doing some documentation on using the new WebGL based API!
- bcowcher 15y agoCan anyone tell how old the maps are that they are using? I looked around but I couldn't find anything. I tried zooming over my workplace in Darwin, AU and the building we work in isn't even there.. (its roughly 5years or so old) I imagine there is probably a mash up of old/new map data in there depending on the population of a given place..
- headShrinker 15y agoAmazing how well the software renders thousands of objects. On close inspection, I find the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the rendering geometry very appealing. http://i.imgur.com/dNYer.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dNYer.jpg