14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, some developers managed to create an impressive set of imagery for Google Earth that brings some new perspective for the mapping tool. Barnabu designed a 3D model of the London Eye, and using the layers technology implemented in the downloadable application, he managed to build a nice-looking animation with the observation wheel.
Moreover, the creator included well-designed shadows that are using the SketchUp technology to improve the imagery displayed by Google Earth. Although the KML file was published a few days ago, the search giant's employees are now praising the creator, sustaining that more animations and shadows should be designed every once in a while.
"Now somebody's figured out a way to combine two very cool things - shadows plus Google Earth - into a single, delicious entity. In the file that James Stafford of barnabu.co.uk produced, you can watch a SketchUp model of the London Eye actually rotating in Google Earth," Aidan Chopra, Product Evangelist, said today. "As if that weren't enough, he also created a series of overlays that let you watch the Eye's shadow move, too," he added.
Google Earth is one of the most popular mapping tools these days as the parent company improves it periodically and adds new features for the fans of the application. Recently, Google quietly rolled out a beta version of the program, 4.1, that brings interoperability with Google Maps, allowing the users to view a certain location straight in the window of the browser.
Google Earth was also tested by Softpedia and can be downloaded for free using this link.