2006 Economic Development Award Laureate
Global Connection Project
| Laureate Country: United States |
| Project Country: United States |
| Website: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~globalconn |
| Video: 2006Videos/global connection.mov |
Project Overview:
The Global Connection Project team develops software tools to increasingly automate earth visualization processes. Such tools not only help populate an earth imaging browser, like Google Earth, with pictures and stories of real people and places, but also create global-community connectivity. This software makes available information on natural events, such as hurricanes, and real-time images of the Earth's geography, which are key to spearheading global disaster responses and connecting the world to global events and ideas.
Problem Addressed:
Disaster responders and students of the world need global information. As a result of recent disasters like the Hurricane Katrina, it has become clear that communication, and accurate, real-time information is needed to forge decisive, joint-relief efforts. Current information about changes in weather and movement of debris is needed to strategize evacuation plans and plan the proper division of scarce supplies. For students living in an interdependent, global world with changing economic, political, and cultural currents, there is need for a way to harness new information that will shape their understanding and response to current global events.
Technology Solution:
The Global Connection Project team developed a system that helps users geolocate and browse geographically-specific information. Their first application allows for the geolocation of thousands of images from National Geographic across the globe and can be viewed as a layer on the Google Earth browser.
Recently, working with NASA, Google, and National Geographic, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and last year's Pakistani earthquake the Global Connection Project processed critical data needed to create imagery in a useable form, and developed new software tools to automate the displaying of images needed for rescue work.
In addition to aiding rescue workers, this system creates geographical representation of cultural, personal, and environmental currents which has given people a new and compelling way to learn about the Earth and its peoples. One of its newest projects is the GigaPan gigapixel panoramic imager that allows for the viewing of images close up in panoramic portraits.
