Google and NASA team up in robotic panoramic venture

Edvarcl Heng | Oct 11, 2007

When names like the search engine giant and the US space agency are mentioned in the same breath, it's a sure bet it involves something big.

The GigaPan is a partnership between Charmed Labs, the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group and Google. What these hi-tech firms are collaborating on is an automated tripod that works together with an everyday consumer digicam to capture extremely high-resolution panoramic scenes. In fact, these pics are so high-res, they're measured in gigapixels.

Yes, each panoramic image is stitched together with hundreds of individual shots that collectively allow the viewer to literally zoom in and explore a picture in minute detail. At press time, the latest version of Google Earth featured several geographical sites that can be explored as a GigaPan image.

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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