Google Maps gets high-res aerial imagery for 72 countries, regions

According to the Google's Lat-Long Blog, the company has added new high-resolution aerial photography to Google Maps. This follows similar news from Microsoft a couple of weeks ago who also updated their own Bing Maps service with 215TB of high-resolution imagery.

Included in the Google Maps update are high-resolution images that were taken both at 45-degrees (often referred to as "bird's-eye view") and directly overhead. The new aerial photography covers numerous areas -- 72 countries and regions plus a total of 28 major cities -- 21 of which are in the U.S.

American cities with fresh bird's-eye imagery include Anderson, CA; Beech Island - New Ellenton, GA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Carthage, MO; Chicago, IL; Clarksville, TN; Columbus - Reynoldsburg, OH; Dayton, OH; Everett, WA; Galena, KS; Idaho Falls, ID; Joplin, MO; Lafayette (outskirts), LA; Lancaster, CA; Louisville, KY; Lowell, MA - Nashua, NH; Pittsburgh, PA; Pueblo (outskirts), CO; Redding, CA; Springfield, IL; Yuba City, CA.

International cities sporting the same kind of up-close aerial photography now include Birmingham, UK; Catania, Italy; Denia, Spain; parts of London, United Kingdom; Meyrin - Vernier, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Neuchatel and Switzerland.

It's worth noting the new imagery of "parts of London" comes just in time for the 2012 Olympics and includes the Olympic Park and Village in Stratford, London. Bird's-eye views of the Olympic stadium do not appear to be available, however.

The blog also lists numerous countries (and regions) who've received a high-res overhaul on Google Maps:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Greenland, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Although Microsoft didn't reveal how many areas were covered in its similar update to Bing Maps, the company mentioned its own additions covered more than 230,000 sq/km of terrain, consisting upward of over 1.1 million files and totaling 215 TB of data. Numbers like may help put into perspective how massive of an undertaking services like Google Maps and Bing Maps truly are.

Microsoft updates Bing Maps with 215TB of high-resolution imagery

Microsoft has issued an update for Bing Maps that includes 215TB of high-resolution imagery covering the United States and key locations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Tokyo. These new snapshots, aptly named Bird’s Eye, were captured at a 45 degree angle to provide increased detail of buildings and landmarks.

A post on the Bing Maps blog points out that photos in the new update cover over 230,000 square kilometers and consist of more than 1.1 million files. The service as a whole now spans a total of 1,388,593 square kilometers, good for 302TB of data.

Bird’s Eye maps are comprised of three different kinds of data. The first is native Bird’s Eye scenes containing photos captured at 45 degree angles. There’s also Bird’s Eye Oblique Mosaics which are a group of aerial photos that have been stitched together to form a seamless layer. The final type of data uses top-down photography that is projected onto a digital terrain or landscape at a 45 degree angle. This is used to showcase topological depth perception when traditional aerial photography isn’t feasible.

To break down the new update, 84,451 square kilometers is brand new Bird’s Eye Oblique Mosaic imagery while the remaining 145,553 square kilometers is refreshed Bird’s Eye, replacing old and potentially outdated imagery.

I checked out some of the new imagery while working on this article and I must say that I am impressed with the results. Many of the local attractions I am familiar with through Google Maps actually look better using Bing Maps. If you haven’t used Microsoft’s alternative yet, it’s certainly worth a try.