Slashdot Mirror
Sounds Bring Google Earth to Life
Strudelkugel writes "The BBC is reporting that a Californian company has created software that can layer relevant recorded sounds over locations in Google Earth. The firm, Wild Sanctuary, has thousands of hours of recordings from all over the world. Company director Dr. Krause has spent over 40 years collecting sounds from natural and man-made habitats. '... his recordings include more than 15,000 animal noises, and sounds from a huge array of habitats, including cities, deserts, mountains and the marine environment. It is the largest library in existence of natural sound, he said. He said the idea would be to zoom-in on a particular area and then have the option to listen to the accompanying sound.'"
No wait, the other thing - annoying.
Now when my relatives use Google Earth to find my house, they'll get to listen to me on the can.
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
the idea sounds nice on paper, but who will actually benefit from this?
This sig contains repetition and redundancy.
Slashdot readers including myself may frequent the San Fernando Valley area for those sounds!
30% off web hosting. Coupon code "SLASHDOT".
When I zoomed in over Microsoft's HQ in Redmond, Washington, I heard the sound of chairs being broken. I'm sure if I zoom in over the White House, monkey sounds will fill my speakers.
great, now I can get sued just for mousing-over the RIAA headquarters!
Thanks a lot guys...
Read my Very Short "Stories"
Now I can finally know what a tree sounds like when it falls and no one is around.
I'd pay money to zoom over a well-known cattle farm, let's say the King Ranch in Texas for instance, and hear an old, familiar sound:
"The cow says: MOOOOOOO"
...Yes I'm simply amused, what of it?
Did they include *fap*fap*fap*fap*?!
I can finally be able to listen to sob gambling stories, hooker sex, and obnoxious casinos in the comfort of my own home!
Monstar L
To have worked for 40 years on something, to believe in it, and dedicate a life to it, to collect samples of sound, or smell, or taste from across an entire planet, then along comes a tool that makes it easy to share the results with other people, to disperse the cumulative knowledge and experience of a lifetime, only to have some bored slasher dis it off after a click and a couple seconds of listening; I'm hurt just thinking about it.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
Let's see,
1. We've done the toilet humour reference.
2. We've done the Microsoft reference.
3. We've done the George Bush reference
.
.
4. Oh Yeah... Profit!!!
If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
America is undoubtedly the worst 1st world country when it comes to geography. We have no idea where most of our own states are, think Africa is a country and half the time don't even know what the next town down the road is named. A tool like this attached to Google Earth would help in keeping the interest of children. I think from this perspective it would be a very good teaching tool. One of the reasons I enjoyed History so much in High School was my teacher allowing me to play CivII. Adapting sounds/games into learning tools has been done and I believe it to be much more effective than text books. How many of you became quick multiplying numbers due to "Number munchers?". Entertainment for learning is the way to go.
This sounds like a natural fit with the original vision of the World Soundscape Project, especially since these are ambient field recordings. Too bad they ran short of funding and the momentum faded, I think they would have taken it somewhere like this. I like the fact that they're hoping to showcase changing soundscapes over time. It would be great if the GE community can contribute. If this stuff interests you, check out the literature on acoustic ecology.
Damn those pesky terrorists
Perhaps they could join forces with Wikipedia. I could see that as a potential boon for primary school kids in doing geography.
Research a location on Wikipedia with a link to Google Earth for a look see and a hint of what it would be like to be there.
Or perhaps research on Orangutans with a link to a map of their native habitat and listen to what they sound like. Many kids have a a wonderful imagination. This could help expand it and their knowledge.
I'm not sure about the man made sounds though, can't really see any potential benefit unless perhaps a map of the Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra playing Beethoven's 9th, or [insert your favourite venue/band here]
ACK NAK RST
It's HIS interest. Hopefully if he's truly passionate about it he's got thick skin anyway. The story is about a company trying to sell sound, seems ripe enough for the odd joke. It's like smell-o-vision for the ears.
Quack, quack.
To have worked for 40 years on something, to believe in it, and dedicate a life to it, to collect samples of sound, or smell, or taste from across an entire planet, then along comes a tool that makes it easy to share the results with other people, to disperse the cumulative knowledge and experience of a lifetime, only to have some bored slasher dis it off after a click and a couple seconds of listening; I'm hurt just thinking about it.
Never mind what you do, there'll be always someone to dismiss it and not like it. If the samples collected are of high quality (low noise/hiss, 2 or more channels, good frequency coverage) they can be used for far more things than supplementing google earth.
Research, audio effects, relaxation mixes etc. etc.
It's no "Smell-O-Vision" but I guess it will do.
Seriously, how can you not see(read:hear) this as sorta cool? I'm as jaded and cynical as the next guy, but I'm intrigued. Scrolling over various areas of the planet and hear the roar of Victoria Falls, the vibrant din of the rainforest, the grating cacophony of a busy metropolitan street, the ominous bells of Big Ben tolling the hour, and numerous other possibilities.
Think of the kids!
"To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today." -Isaac Asimov
I remember when I was younger microsoft released an encylopedia for kids, when ever you looked up an animal the noise it made would play (there was a button to make it replay.) It was something that did keep me entertained for hours, just going through all the different entries.
Someone else has mentioned Wikipedia, would this not be a great extension to that? Primary school teachers could access certain pages/places and play appropirate sounds. Since it seems the type of kids encylopedia cdrom that I played with as a child has been replaced by wikipedia, wouldn't it be great if wikipedia took on the two great things about those?
Encarta and "Encylopedia for kids" (by Microsoft) would often have short video sequences or sound clips to go with the articles. It was one of the best ways to gain an understanding of a process at times. Sure some pages might be quite dodgey if it was implimented but the wildlife,manufacturing,car/motorcycle history,science and engineering pages could be significantly enhanced by this sort of feature.
I'm aware of wikimedia, but why hasn't the main wikipedia design be altered to do these things already?
In Soviet Russia, Google Earth listens to you.
In contrast to all the negative comments I like to say that it is a great idea. Sound has an immediate and very powerful impact of the viewer. Just try to watch and action movie without sounds and the film will look very dumb. Sound is a far more than just added sound. It can really place you in the area you are viewing.
Imagine looking at mount Everest and hear the wind howling around it's peaks. Or looking at Manhattan New York and hear the hustle and bustle of the city noise grow stronger and more defined as you zoom in. Hear the ocean waves crashing on shore, cranes and trucks at the port, bird and wind sounds over the forests and I can think of thousands other things you can do with sound.
It is a natural step for Google earth and I am actually surprised nobody though of it earlier.
But eh, I am still waiting to see the whole world in proper 10 meter elevation data. It's there so please use it Google.
Great Idea!
Just close your eyes, click, listen and guess where you clicked:
e.g.: click!
Mooing, oinking, a shrieking chimpanzee, baboon howls, clucking, grunting, snoring....
The local zoo you say? Nope - Washington DC.
Now you get to know what Superman feels like when he flies up in space and hears the sounds of the world. Hundreds of millions of people going to the can. Simultaneously.
I wonder if he can differentiate between bathroom grunts and bedroom grunts. That'd be interesting to find out, eh?
You mean there's more than just the Puget!?!?!
Put this together with the virtual bicycle and you've got one nice Excertainment system! http://www.virtualbicycle.com/
It's not like he did it all to try to impress slashdotters.
A tool like this could also help educate sound guys working on Hollywood movies. I've lost count of the number of movies set in jungles in Asia, Africa or South America where you suddenly hear kookaburras whip birds and bell birds. For all you geographically and/or ornithologically challenged types out there, that's a bit like using the sound of Tibetan gongs and chanting to signify that the bustling city scape you're looking at is New York.
At least this would provide a tool to correct that great injustice.
I don't therefore I'm not.
But what would really be fun would be to tie in real-time sounds from such things as the gunshot camerals in LA, for example: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/01/23 2248, or maybe the mics from surveilance cameras in London: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/25/05 4246.
Well that's funny. I was just mousing over Miskatonic University and I heard a weird chanting sound like "Ia Ia Yog-Sothoth Fhtagn" followed by a flapping wings soun... R*@(*@(*@E@*... ^H^H^H carrier lost
Cthulhu saves... in case he is hungry later
The creative commons site Freesound also tags sound to map locations, but it does so with Google Maps, not Earth. Here is a link from near my home:
- 123.759596943855&lat=48.3681998651109&zoom=16
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/geotagsView.php?lon=