14 DAY TRIAL // New Google CEO Larry Page had a clear vision for the company and that vision didn't involve tens of small projects spread over various parts of Google. As such, Google Labs got shut down, along with any other project that didn't meet certain criteria.
Among the casualties of Google Labs was a rather interesting app, Google Body. The app was built to showcase the power of WebGL, when Google Chrome finally got the technology enabled by default.
However, it was part of Google Labs and everything in Labs had to either be shut down, merged into another project or spun off. Luckily, for Google Body, the third option was chosen.
"Google Body was built by Google engineers in their '20% time' and was retired along with Google Labs last year. Today we’re pleased to announce that the software underlying Google Body is now open source," Roni Zeiger, Google Body 20% team, wrote.
"Zygote Media Group, which provided the imagery for Google Body, has used this open source code to build Zygote Body (zygotebody.com)," he said.
"Zygote Body offers the same navigation, layering, and instant search as Google Body. Like Google Body, Zygote Body can be used in browsers that support WebGL, like Chrome and Firefox, without needing to install additional software," he added.
In order to open source the tool entirely, the team actually had to re-build the 3D viewer. That viewer is now available at open-3d-viewer.googlecode.com.
The same 3D viewer is used by Zygote for the Zygote Body, the app that continues where Google Body left off. It offers a complete human body which can be 'peeled' off layer by layer to reveal its anatomy. It's a really interesting app for most people but it could come in especially handy for students. The open source viewer comes with data of a cow's anatomy.