Bluesky Streams 3D Aerial Maps Over Web

Leicestershire, UK - 17 April 2012 -  Aerial mapping company Bluesky has launched a new service streaming 3D aerial photos via the Internet. The Stereo Web Map (SWM) allows high resolution aerial images to be viewed in 3D and enables users to take height measurements from the images and digitise 3D mapping, all online. Applications of the SWM are expected to include insurance risk assessment, cartography, urban planning, construction and design, real estate and emergency response planning.

Overlapping stereo photographs from Bluesky’s own national archive of aerial imagery can be streamed directly to a user’s desktop where they can be viewed on a normal screen using anaglyph glasses, available to buy for a few pence, or, for more advanced applications, a 3D screen. The images can also be viewed on mobile devices. The 3D aerial photos can be viewed directly in a web browser or in most WMS compatible software.

Bluesky are also able to create a 3D image stream for other types of data including their own archive of historically important aerial photographs dating back to the early 1900’s, or a client’s own images, and combined with existing mapping and GIS layers.

“The Stereo Web Map takes aerial photography to the next level,” commented James Eddy, Technical Director of Bluesky International. “We are all used to being able to access 2D aerial maps through online services such as Google Earth however when you go to the next dimension a wealth of previously unavailable information becomes apparent. After all, we live in a 3D world, so we should view it that way”

“Stereo photogrammetry has been around for a long time and has been traditionally been reserved for high end applications with expensive equipment and software,” he continued. “Our Stereo Web Map service combined with the prevalence of 3D viewing devices will open up the world of 3D making it accessible to all.”

Bluesky is a UK-based specialist in aerial imaging and remote sensing data collection and processing.  An internationally recognised leader with projects extending around the globe, Bluesky is proud to work with prestigious organisations such as Google, the BBC and Government Agencies.

Bluesky has unrivalled expertise in the creation of seamless, digital aerial photography, 3D landscape/cityscape visualisations and prints and also runs a national mapping centre, providing digital mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography including ultra-high resolution imagery of cities and towns.

Bluesky is now leading the way developing innovative solutions for environmental applications including the UK’s first nationwide map of solar potential, citywide ‘heat loss’ maps, 3D maps of trees and their proximity to buildings and historical imagery.