Google Earth’s 3D maps can now be accessed by developers. In the future, there might be a Google Earth VR -like app for standalone virtual reality headsets.

During Google’s I/O 2023 developer conference, the tech giant released a new experimental feature known as Photorealistic 3D titles that enable developers to use Google Earth’s impressive 3D maps in their apps for the first time.

Building 3D models is a labor and resource-intensive process. With the Photorealistic 3D Tiles, this process is streamlined thereby taking off much of the work off the developers’ plate thanks to Google Earth 3D’s comprehensive 3D geo datasets while also allowing developers to use renderers of their choice and overlay their own data, according to Google Blog. Google says its new geodata product will provide a seamless 3D mesh model of the real world which is “textured with Google’s “high-res RGB optical imagery” and it also uses the same 3D map source that is in Google Earth, the blog states.

Wooorld Will Implement the New Feature

The Meta Quest 2 virtual reality app Wooorld is almost the same as Google Earth VR. However, the app leverages the inferior Bing maps rather than Google Earth’s 3D maps.  Wooorld has not had 3D cities. That is about to change.

In a Twitter post, the app developers stated that it is planning to implement the interface and add 2,500 3D cities to Wooorld thanks to Google’s API initiative. However, it didn’t provide a timeline for when the integration will occur.

Apart from the availability of Google Earth 3D’s 3D data, the other factors that are key to a Google Earth VR-like virtual reality experience include the detail with which the geometry is rendered as well as how users navigate through the virtual duplicate of the real world.

Wooorld has some disadvantages. For instance, the app will only render slices of the world. It is also more difficult to use than Google Earth VR.

Expect Other Google Earth VR Clones

The launch of Photorealistic 3D Tiles will open the implementation of its impressive 3D maps to all developers. As a result, we are likely to see other Google Earth VR clones for various standalone virtual reality headsets that mimic its functionality.

With Google collaborating with Samsung on a standalone mixed-reality headset, it may even release such an app itself. A standalone Google Earth VR app would be a winning up for the headset.

Rob GrantTechnologyGoogle Earth’s 3D maps can now be accessed by developers. In the future, there might be a Google Earth VR -like app for standalone virtual reality headsets. During Google’s I/O 2023 developer conference, the tech giant released a new experimental feature known as Photorealistic 3D titles that enable developers to...VR, Oculus Rift, and Metaverse News - Cryptocurrency, Adult, Sex, Porn, XXX