#TECH: Google launches Timelapse in Google Earth
BOTs Team
IN its biggest update to Google Earth since 2017, Google said people can now see the planet in an entirely new dimension — time.
With Timelapse in Google Earth, 20 million satellite photos from the past 37 years have been embedded into Google Earth, creating an explorable view of time on our planet. Now anyone can watch time unfold across the globe and witness nearly four decades of planetary change.
To explore Timelapse in Google Earth, go to g.co/Timelapse. You can use the handy search bar to choose any place on the planet where you want to see time in motion. Or open Google Earth and click on the ship's wheel to find Timelapse in our storytelling platform, Voyager. There you'll find our interactive guided tours of the new imagery and featured locations you might be interested in visiting.
Google also uploaded more than 800 Timelapse videos in both 2D and 3D for public use at g.co/TimelapseVideos. You can select any video you want as a ready-to-use MP4 video or sit back and watch the videos on YouTube - where you'll be able to see Kuala Lumpur, Segamat and Johor Bahru captured in this collection.
Understand the causes of Earth's change
Google worked with the experts at Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab to build the technology that makes Timelapse possible, and the company worked with them again to make sense of what they were seeing.
Five themes emerged as they set about looking at what's happening on Planet Earth — forest change, urban growth, warming temperatures, sources of energy, and our world's fragile beauty. For each topic, Google Earth takes you on a guided tour so you can better understand the planet's changes and how people experience them.
What can you do with Timelapse?
For years, people have been making digital discoveries in Google Earth. From uncovering an unknown rainforest on top of a mountain, to an ancient settlement in Ireland, satellite imagery in Google Earth has sparked new discoveries and even a few scientific breakthroughs. And we think people will discover things unseen before with Timelapse in Google Earth.
Google invites anyone to take Timelapse into their own hands and share it with others — whether you're marvelling at the changing shapes of coastlines, following the growth of megacities, or tracking the reach of deforestation. Timelapse in Google Earth is the visual evidence of drastic, dynamic change on the planet from climate change and human behavior, and our hope is that it will be used to educate and inspire.