Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Earth Used To Predict Electrical Problems

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-can't-it-do dept.

coondoggie writes "What do you get when you combine images from Google Earth and the brainpower from researchers at Oak Ridge National Labs? Well in this case you get a tool that enables real-time status of the national electric grid that federal state and local agencies can use to coordinate and respond to major problems such as wide-area power outages, natural disasters and other catastrophic events. The Visualizing Energy Resources Dynamically on Earth (VERDE) system, announced this week, mashes together images and stats of everything from real-time status of the electric grid and weather information to power grid behavior modeling and simulation."

15 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. I predict... by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...that posting such a story will inspire lots of slashdotters to go download or access Google Earth, and cause electrical problems.

    1. Re:I predict... by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      that Google Earth will be declared a threat to Homeland Security, and taken offline. :-(

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Next project? by VoltageX · · Score: 5, Funny

    Managing Energy Resources Dynamically on Earth (MERDE).

    Oui oui!

    --
    "Anonymous could not immediately be reached for further comment." - International Business Times
    1. Re:Next project? by aproposofwhat · · Score: 2, Funny

      Something Happening In The Electrics (SHITE)

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
  3. Re:I am skeptical... by cencithomas · · Score: 4, Funny

    I believe you can get more up-to-date information by purchasing Google Earth Plus or Google Earth Pro. Not positive though and the comparison page doesn't seem to specify.

    ...in retrospect, this comment is not nearly as helpful as I'd hoped.

    --
    ...'tis easier to blame than to improve.
  4. Re:HUH??? by powermacx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do you *want* realtime Google Earth?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgV6-gnQaE

    ;-)

  5. Google Used To... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Google Earth Used To Predict Electrical Problems

    Too bad they don't anymore!

  6. How do I view it without electricity? by Xoc-S · · Score: 4, Funny

    If there is a power outage, how am I going to fire up my desktop machine and view Google Earth?

  7. Re:simple google by jaminJay · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now if Google was doing a real time status program I would have it sit on my screen all day.

    That way, when the screen goes black, you'd know the power went out?

    --
    Leela: "Is all the work done by children?" Alien: "No, not the whipping."
  8. too late by Digitus1337 · · Score: 3, Funny

    The LHC goes online in just under a day; Google Earth is going to be obsolete, so how is this newsworthy?

    1. Re:too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      The LHC goes online in just under a day; Google Earth is going to be obsolete

      Google Earth is an interactive map & the LHC is a particle accelerator. Frankly, I don't see wtf one has to do with the other (or how one could obsolete the other)...

      *whoosh*

  9. Anyone else misread the title as by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Google Earth Used To Predict Electoral Problems?

    And I'm not even American...

  10. Re:simple google by SimonGhent · · Score: 4, Funny

    That way, when the screen goes black, you'd know the power went out?

    Or that the sun went down. There's just no way to tell.

    --
    simon
  11. Re:Wha? by houghi · · Score: 4, Funny

    It sounds less sexy then Maps used to show location

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  12. Links, video, and a follow-up program? by martyb · · Score: 2, Funny

    Here's a bit more detail from the ORNL web site: http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v40_3_07/article13.shtml and http://www.ornl.gov/sci/electricdelivery/vis_VERDE.html where there are links to: VERDE video (WMV 81.2MB) (13m 54s)

    In the first-listed link above, I found this:

    "Major power outages in the United States over the past decade have a recurring theme--the lack of wide-area situational understanding," says Tom King, manager of electric transmission and distribution technologies for ORNL's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program. (emphasis added)

    As a follow-up, I hear they are planning a "Wide-Area Situational Understanding Program", aka WASUP! :)