14 DAY TRIAL // Google Earth 6 was introduced yesterday and one of the big new features is 3D trees. Sure, it's a cosmetic feature, but it's an impressive feat considering the scale at which it has been implemented. Google says some 80 million trees have been recreated for Google Earth with many more on the way.
"We strive to provide as much realism as possible in Google Earth, but until now, trees have largely been missing from the landscape of our product. Trees have been modeled individually in a handful of locations, such as Disney World and the Eiffel Tower," Raleigh Seamster, Program Manager for Google Earth, wrote.
"In the new release of Google Earth 6, people in several cities will now be able to browse 3D trees in some of their favorite parks, and maybe even pick out a spot for their next picnic!," he announced.
For now, people in several cities around the world will be able to enjoy the new feature, specifically San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Athens, Berlin and Tokyo.
Note that only a few parks and areas in these cities have been modeled, not every tree in the city. Still, it's a big achievement considering that the Google team is using different models for all the species of trees, over 50 different species so far, and is placing them fairly accurately.
Another issue is a technical one, tree models could prove a significant performance hog, so the team had to ensure that Google Earth 6 is as responsive as ever.
"Of course trees also grow and flourish outside of cities. In fact, urban trees only make up a very small percentage of the estimated more than 400 billion trees on our planet," he explained.
Google is working with several environmental organizations to model some reforestation efforts. Google has already modeled three sites in Kenya handled by the Green Belt Movement. Some areas from the Amazon rainforest in cooperation with the Amazon Conservation Team and Google plans to add many more.