Google Earth... back in the '90s
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In 1994, ART+COM presented Terravision, an installation that enabled users to navigate in a 3D model of the earth by moving a tracking device in front of the projection showing the actual location and environment s/he is in.
The virtual globe is generated from satellite images and altitude data stored on servers located around the world, integrated into a television system by an ATM broadband network. Information can be accessed topographically and chronologically: a user can see weather patterns or zoom in on, say, the Potzdammer Platz in Berlin and use a camera icon (placed at the actual location of the original camera) to view a film of it made in 1929. Terravision was conceived as a tool to generate knowledge about the condition and future development of our planet. The display and the resolution were only limited by the quality of the satellite aerial images of the corresponding location. John has just sent out via bittorrent the original video from 1995. More images and videos on art+com website and on Media Art Net. Other works by art+com: the Science of Aliens, timetravel telescope, Floating Numbers table. |
An interesting anecdote: ART+COM was approached by the American military. who wanted to license the Terra:Vision technology. Most likely they would have used it for surveillance and possibly war gaming. But ART+COM turned them down, despite what could potentially have been a multi-million dollar project.
I'm proud to say that I had the pleasure of inviting Terra:Vision to be shown in Oslo in 1996 at the Electra exhibition. At the time, it was the best application of virtual reality technology I knew of.
I have had the privilege to experience Terra:Vision when it was displayed in November1994 at the exhibition "Fenster im Netz" in Berlin.
While the gigantic Display certainly helped, the most memorable experience was the intuitive interface.
Of stunning elegance and simplicity, it made for a seamless transition into the visualized earth.
It has been an incredibly intense experience, and I am still referencing it when it comes to usability, visualization, or geodata.
I guess you can still count me as a fan ;-)