Google Earth and Second Life?
I didn't make it to the Life 2.0 presentations yesterday, but Wade Roush posted about his presentation. Within it, he writes:
I mainly repeated the argument from my article that anyone who has spent time in both Google Earth (the most popular map world or “geobrowser”) and Second Life (the leading social virtual world, created and operated by San Francisco-based Linden Lab) should appreciate how powerful it would be to mash up the two technologies, or at least the driving ideas behind them. Wandering around Second Life demonstrates how natural it can be to build and explore 3-D structures and environments through the medium of a human-shaped, human-acting avatar. Browsing Google Earth demonstrates what a sense of freedom and mastery comes from having tip-of-your-fingers access to an entire globe’s worth of geographical data at multiple levels of resolution.
A year ago, I might have agreed with this. Now I am pretty sure that I don't, and the image at the top left demonstrates why... granted, I may be overlooking something (and I would love feedback on that!) - but I don't see Google Earth and Second Life combined as being anything but fluff. Why? Because Second Life resides on the internet; the 'land' of Second Life is really 3D Web Hosting and travelling in Second Life across sim boundaries is still... inefficient, and it probably always will be because of the nature of the network being used. Moving one's presence to another simulator which resides on a different server is not graceful; there is a reason that when one teleports one gets a progress screen. When one crosses a sim border onto another sim on a separate server, you're basically teleporting to the spot at the new area.
'You Are Here' is already well enacted on the Second Life map inworld; I don't know how much else one would want. I honestly don't see any value in that... and since, apparently, other people do...
By all means, let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear how this could be useful. As it stands right now, it seems like the extension of a failed metaphor. Sure, it looks 3D but it really isn't - there are many more dimensions, and when you factor in how people move from point to point... it just boggles me that this could be useful.
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It's still worth thinking about
While mashing up the two is highly unlikely in the near future, I think one could well imagine having a virtual world similar to SL, with features like Google Earth. Google is already allowing people to create 3D buildings on their maps. While furthering this has many technical challenges, I could certainly see something comprehensive happening. From both perspectives 1) replicating the real world on a Google Earth or 2) Creating even more spacial references and interfaces for virtual worlds.
It seems, SL has a strict way to use their servers to simulate a connected world. Their method may not be the best way, as other open source worlds give more cross-network handling of their world. So my thought is that it isn't really something to actually mash the two together, but to take the concepts and build off the good aspects of each is certainly something anyone could find potential uses for.
Either way, I think augmented reality is going to be bigger player eventually. And that, would seem to make replicated virtual worlds even more valuable.
Check out my blog, if you will:
http://www.rezyourmind.com
SL: DJ Cure
Recreating the planet on servers?
Is that really a smart move? We already have one planet; perhaps better integrating with that planet would seem more sensible than poorly reinventing the wheel to me.
Not recreating. Building something different
Yeah, if we just duplicate the world and leave it at that, there isn't much added value. But I don't think that's what I'd see would be the only reason to replicate (or I should say, simi-replicate) the real world. We can already see people tagging meta data to real life places. If you advance that to provide virtual interaction, and especially augmented reality, then you can do what you're saying and better integrate with the planet.
I can't for-see all the practical application for such technology but here's a possible example for integrating virtual worlds with a real world map and augmented reality:
With augmented reality eventual available on headset, you could rez an avatar in real world places for others to see and share avatar visuals, objects, communication. Thus, if i were to surf a virtual globe that replicated the earth somehow, I could access public places and be able to teleport there. Then I can interact with: physical people there, virtual people there, the virtual objects, screens, products, video from live cameras, virtual entertainment, that they might be including for the physical world people to access via augmented reality web connection. Might we need Google Earth-like map to do so? no. But it's an interesting idea to do such a thing none-the-less. But I think augmented reality via headset, will change things and potential make this virtual earth idea more valuable, specifically for public access to augmented spaces. But to do this right now is pointless.
On a simi-related topic, here's one of my blog posts on augmented products:
http://www.rezyourmind.com/2007/08/vbusiness-virtual-products.html
OK
You do have an interesting case for merging real world and artificial world. But I don't see where Google Earth comes in... GPS coordinates to rez an avatar would work just fine. The avatar isn't going to interact with physical objects, is it?
Right on
Yeah, I'm not convinced we'd need a Google Earth but it is an interesting potential interface for connecting virtual and augmented spaces in one mapped out location. A simpler way to access publicly augmented spaces could just be their website, search, etc. GPS may help, but you'd need more precise tracking for you visual display which has been a challenge for the augmented industry (but that's another topic). So the only thing Google adds is the information they collect as well as the current interface to connect to it remotely. Example: You see google's store-ratings as you walk down the street full of shops, or a virtual arrow that guides you to a destination.
The avatar probably wouldn't interact with physical objects (well unless one wants to build some sort of remote robot and such). But once augmented reality really catches on with every day uses, there may be more to do with virtual objects anyways. For example, if i build a store, I could replace physical demo/display items with virtual ones. Why? so I can interact with it differently and save money: change the model, color, accessories of a product in front of me without having to walk around looking for that specific product. yeah it's a fake, but because I have a 3D interactive representation, I can do that while in the store or out of the store via remote access. Plus more virtual products such as clothing and augmented documents, media sharing, could mean we all would want to share that virtual information openly (whether you're their in real life or tapped in via your avatar). So someone's avatar comes into my home. They see the replicated digital version of my home (nice and clean, maybe a better view :D) and I'm home looking at their avatar in my real home. Is something like Google Earth the way to go? Maybe not fully though some of it's data and interface are very helpful. We'll want many ways to connect as well outside of that. I see Google Earth as potentially a way to just host the public virtual information (even if it just means connecting to other servers to grab information you request). We'll need some system to handle connecting the public augmented information from the web to augmented displays, so you might as well have it mapped out and available to be replicated for remote access. At the same time, I should be able to have Peer-to-peer connections into my virtual spaces for private use (and that needs no map, yet it could be cool if you located my house on Google Earth and rang the door bell to connect to me). And I may want a large virtual spaces for other purposes.
Sorry, rambling out ideas. Just fun to think of what might happen with the blend of different sets of technology and information.
DJ Cure
http://www.rezyourmind.com
Reminds me of...
this quote:
I'm not an augmentationist or an immersionist. Either things are real or they aren't, so as soon as I see those words I balk... now what you're saying to me isn't 'augmentation', it is simply connecting things in meaningful ways. If we strip away the metaversal buzz words, what do we really have? We have a lot of the same ideas that have been running around...
I'm not responding to your comment well, forgive me. I need more coffee, and I am juggling some other tasks... but I expect I shall post on this again sometime within the next 24 hours, once I have some time.
Yeah...
I've spend a lot less time in SL lately, just thinking on the direction of all this and where I find my place in it. We know SL as being just the beginning. It helps present the uses of such a tool. But we have reinvented the wheel a few times in the process. I like looking at what's actually next. This Google Earth idea is actually new to me, but ties into my thinking of potential future pieces of the puzzle. But it's probably not using google, but the concept of overlaying virtual and augmented spaces. But what's first is just having a mainstream augmented interfaced computer. Here's my thoughts on that:
http://www.rezyourmind.com/2007/09/vtech-operating-virtual-plateforms.ht...
A virtual operating system with vastly more applications for augmented/immersed integration is an exciting thing. What do you think? 50 years? 20 years? less? I'm thinking fully immersed headsets are falling in price, processor power is steadily increasing, virtual interface controls and camera motion reading is getting better, so 5 to 10 years you might see the first generation augmented GUI for the home PC.
It's fun to think of the possibilities for such tools. Your quote on the discovering of the purpose of the Universe is an interesting one. The world is full of wonder, we're dissecting it quickly eh? Historically shown so far, we've been moving exponentially which is both amazing and scary. There is something at the end of the graph. I'm one to think it's God. This post touches on that a little:
http://www.rezyourmind.com/2007/08/technical-evolution.html
DJ Cure