Difference between revisions of "Google Earth replacement"
(added Celestia, and World Wind .net and Java) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | ===Marble=== | ||
Marble (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_(KDE), http://edu.kde.org/marble) | Marble (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_(KDE), http://edu.kde.org/marble) | ||
should fulfill your need for a free Google Earth replacement. I'm | should fulfill your need for a free Google Earth replacement. I'm | ||
| Line 40: | Line 41: | ||
if you're interested. | if you're interested. | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
===ossimPlanet=== | ===ossimPlanet=== | ||
http://www.ossim.org is an open source project that provides an alternative to Google Earth. ossimPlanet builds on top of OSSIM and OpenSceneGraph to provide accurate 3D visualization of geospatial data sets. The project is LGPL and written in C++. The emphasis is on accuracy, collaboration through communications channel, and the ability to transform and project a wide range of geospatial formats to the planet on the fly. Basic support for KML and KMZ is in development. DTED, SRTM, and general raster elevation data sets are supported. Government and commercial geospatial formats are supported through internal file handlers and use of the GDAL plugin. Builds under gcc and is supported under Linux, Windows, and MacOSX. | http://www.ossim.org is an open source project that provides an alternative to Google Earth. ossimPlanet builds on top of OSSIM and OpenSceneGraph to provide accurate 3D visualization of geospatial data sets. The project is LGPL and written in C++. The emphasis is on accuracy, collaboration through communications channel, and the ability to transform and project a wide range of geospatial formats to the planet on the fly. Basic support for KML and KMZ is in development. DTED, SRTM, and general raster elevation data sets are supported. Government and commercial geospatial formats are supported through internal file handlers and use of the GDAL plugin. Builds under gcc and is supported under Linux, Windows, and MacOSX. | ||
| + | === Celestia === | ||
| + | Celestia is a c++ open source project with Linux, Windows and MaxOS support. It's oriented on visualization of planet and planetary systems, but has recently expanded to cover more GIS-oriented functionalities. [http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ visit their site] | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some screenshots [http://www.shatters.net/celestia/gallery.html here] | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Pros: GPL, fast, full use of 3D | ||
| + | *Cons: No KML support, no WMS nor WFS supoprt | ||
| + | |||
| + | === World Wind Net === | ||
| + | [http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/download.html WWNet] is a full featured, high-quality "open-source" 3D GIS application by NASA. It has WMS and some WFS and KML support, as well as several fueatures including a very nice user interface. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some screenshots [http://www.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/World-Wind-Screenshot-20233.html here] | ||
| + | *Pros: Very fast, full featured, professional look, MS Virtual Earth imagery (non-comercial use), very good data scalability | ||
| + | *Cons: Windows only, [http://worldwindcentral.com/wiki/NOSA NOSA license] probably incompatible with GPL, no KML 3D objects support, no longer supported by NASA | ||
| + | |||
| + | === World Wind Java SDK === | ||
| + | [http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/java/ WWJava] is an "open source" Java-based SDK for the development of 3D GIS applications. It is under active development, and it currently supports WMS, some WFS and some KML features. It itself is not an application, thought there are several example applications with a lot of functional parts that can be easilly assembled in a working application. We could approach NASA and ask them if they are ready to release this under a dual license. MS Virtual Earth imagery (non-comercial use only), as well as [illegal] Google Earth limited support. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some screenshots [http://patmurris.blogspot.com/ here] | ||
| + | *Pros: Multiple platform (incl. Solaris and FreeBSD), very flexible, under active development, very good data scalability, probably the closest thing to Google Earth in terms of capabilities right now. | ||
| + | *Cons: No real user interface, [http://worldwindcentral.com/wiki/NOSA NOSA license] probably incompatible with GPL, no KML 3D objects support [yet]. | ||
[[Category:Priority Project]] | [[Category:Priority Project]] | ||
Revision as of 15:16, 6 April 2009
Marble
Marble (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_(KDE), http://edu.kde.org/marble) should fulfill your need for a free Google Earth replacement. I'm actually surprised that the editor of your high priority list wasn't aware of this application.
I just saw on your high priority list that you're looking for a Google Earth replacement. We currently develop a landscape visualization system that handles planet sized terrains, called Biosphere3D:
- It is already open source under the MPL. Up to now, no external contributions have been made, so this is negotiable.
- It is based exclusively on open source libraries.
- It sports a state-of-the-art terrain management and rendering system. Our research has been published on the EuroVis and the SimVis conference, see http://www.zib.de/clasen/?page_id=4 .
- It handles large satellite images and digital elevation models, tested up to 2TB uncompressed (27GB compressed).
- There's already basic support for GIS data (shape file overlay).
- It's available for Windows (32 and 64 bit). The build system, the libraries and most of the code is already posix compatible, but we're lacking someone with proper experience in this field.
You can have a look at some screenshots at http://www.zib.de/clasen/?p=30 and http://www.zib.de/visual/projects/silvisio/silvisiolong.en.html . The source code is available via https://svn.zib.de/lenne3d/. The official project site (still somewhat empty) is http://www.biosphere3d.org/ .
Right now, only a single person (myself) is working on Biosphere3D, and the focus is vegetation rendering, not replacing Google Earth. However, I'd say that Biosphere3D has what it takes to become a Google Earth competitor, given that a few more people work on it. Please let me know if you're interested.
ossimPlanet
http://www.ossim.org is an open source project that provides an alternative to Google Earth. ossimPlanet builds on top of OSSIM and OpenSceneGraph to provide accurate 3D visualization of geospatial data sets. The project is LGPL and written in C++. The emphasis is on accuracy, collaboration through communications channel, and the ability to transform and project a wide range of geospatial formats to the planet on the fly. Basic support for KML and KMZ is in development. DTED, SRTM, and general raster elevation data sets are supported. Government and commercial geospatial formats are supported through internal file handlers and use of the GDAL plugin. Builds under gcc and is supported under Linux, Windows, and MacOSX.
Celestia
Celestia is a c++ open source project with Linux, Windows and MaxOS support. It's oriented on visualization of planet and planetary systems, but has recently expanded to cover more GIS-oriented functionalities. visit their site
Some screenshots here
- Pros: GPL, fast, full use of 3D
- Cons: No KML support, no WMS nor WFS supoprt
World Wind Net
WWNet is a full featured, high-quality "open-source" 3D GIS application by NASA. It has WMS and some WFS and KML support, as well as several fueatures including a very nice user interface.
Some screenshots here
- Pros: Very fast, full featured, professional look, MS Virtual Earth imagery (non-comercial use), very good data scalability
- Cons: Windows only, NOSA license probably incompatible with GPL, no KML 3D objects support, no longer supported by NASA
World Wind Java SDK
WWJava is an "open source" Java-based SDK for the development of 3D GIS applications. It is under active development, and it currently supports WMS, some WFS and some KML features. It itself is not an application, thought there are several example applications with a lot of functional parts that can be easilly assembled in a working application. We could approach NASA and ask them if they are ready to release this under a dual license. MS Virtual Earth imagery (non-comercial use only), as well as [illegal] Google Earth limited support.
Some screenshots here
- Pros: Multiple platform (incl. Solaris and FreeBSD), very flexible, under active development, very good data scalability, probably the closest thing to Google Earth in terms of capabilities right now.
- Cons: No real user interface, NOSA license probably incompatible with GPL, no KML 3D objects support [yet].
