At Space Database we have become fascinated with Google Earth. It is a great tool for getting a visual understanding of real estate and the surrounding context. Through our research, we have developed a way to integrate Space Database information so that we can navigate through client portfolios using Google Earth.
This interface represents a fundamentally different way of organizing information. Traditionally building portfolios have been thought of and organized in groups and lists based on building type and region. The tree-view left-hand control is the ultimate result of this conceptualized hierarchy. Google Earth lets us replace this model with one that is much closer to reality - the actual spatial relationships of the buildings themselves. We can use this intelligent map as a replacement for tree and list based organization.
For this to work, users will need Google Earth. It is a free download from Google; you can get it at http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html. It does require administrator rights to install, so if you can't get this at the office right away, you can try it at home. It is a very cool tool!
Once you have Google Earth installed, paste one of these links into your browser:
- http://www.SpaceDatabase.com/GE/RedcliffRealtyManagementInc.kml
- http://www.SpaceDatabase.com/GE/Dundee.kml
- http://www.SpaceDatabase.com/GE/SlatePropertiesInc.kml
You should see an entire portfolio displayed as a collection of icons on the globe. Now if you click on more than one portfolio you will see more icons and overlapped logos. We have not figured out how to 'unload' a set of objects yet.
We have not made a general announcement about this integration yet as it is still in the development stage - I have been emailing a few of our clients at a time to let them know about the prototype.
We will be able to modify the content of the pop-up windows with whatever links and text that we want. Your feedback will be very valuable in helping us design this interface. Please let me know if you have any ideas for how we can make this tool more useful.
0 comments:
Post a Comment