This is one slick piece of code…
I once lost track of an entire day just playing with this thing!
World Wind is the brainchild of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and has been released under an open source license meaning that you are free to modify it, repackage it, use it for commercial purposes and yes – even sell it!
There are tons of possibilities for using World Wind in your product creations besides just trying to sell the program outright though and that’s what I want to share with you here…
The program itself is merely just the beginning – it’s all of the wonderful things it allows you to do that make it really exciting!
By way of introduction, here’s a few videos from YouTube showing off some of the capabilities of World Wind…
Could you use World Wind in the production of your own videos? You betcha!
More about World Wind (courtesy of WorldWindCentral.com)…
“World Wind, an open source 3D interactive world viewer, was created by NASA’s Learning Technologies project, and released in mid-2004. It is now developed by NASA staff and open source community developers.
Virtually visit any place in the world. Look across the Andes, into the Grand Canyon, over the Alps, or along the African Sahara.
At its simplest you can think of World Wind as a desk globe, however World Wind is not a simple desk globe.
World Wind allows any user to zoom from outer space into any place on Earth. World Wind uses satellite imagery and elevation data to allow users to experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if they were really there. Virtually visit anyplace in the world. Look across the Andes, into the Grand Canyon, over the Alps or along the African Sahara.
World Wind lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth. Leveraging Landsat satellite imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, World Wind lets you experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if you were really there.
Unlike your desk globe World Wind can display thousands of placenames all over the world, from country capitals to villages in sparsely populated regions. You can see country borders, and in some cases intracountry borders such as US states.
World Wind can also be expanded to include additional imagery and data.. There have already been a number of add-ons created, from Norway’s Prehistoric Hillforts to additional planets, for more information on using add-ons see the Add-on Launchpad.”
You can learn more about World Wind and download the installable program or the source code at the following two links…
http://www.worldwindcentral.com
To view the Open Source Agreement License for World Wind use this link…
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/nasa1.3.php
Also, see this page for a short explanation of allowed and non-allowed uses…
http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/NOSA
The imagery you’ll find playing around in World Wind is just breathtaking.
Here’s a few examples (please forgive these lo-res versions)…
Mt. St. Helens in Washington as seen from the LandSat 7 satellite:
An arial view of Miami Beach, Florida:
A satellite view of the tragic forest fires that broke out in Greece a few summers ago claiming the lives of 47 people.
View of satellites in Earth’s orbit using the “Satellite Tracker” plug-in (public domain). This plug-in adds dynamically rendered Satellites to World Wind, 400 satellites are displayed and a satellite info window appears on mouse-over.
Tour the moon in amazingly vivid detail!
Here’s a size comparison – Earth vs. Jupiter. Gulp!!
To increase and enhance the functionalities of the core World Wind program, you’ll find a slew of add-ons and plug-ins, most of which have been released as either open source or Public Domain such as the Shiny Marble plug-in below…
To view the full list of add-ons visit the link below…
http://www.worldwindcentral.com/add-ons/list
To see the plug-ins that are available see this link…
http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/Category:Plugins1.4
More links of interest…
World Wind Frequently Asked Questions
Are images on World Wind copyrighted?
Ok, so what’s the big deal?
How can I use this thing to make money and create products?
That’s what you really want to know, right?
Don’t blame you.
With a little thought, I’m sure that you can come up with all sorts of really creative ways to use World Wind in your product creations!
Here’s a just a few simple ideas right off the top of my head…
(clipart courtesy of WPClipart.com)
Idea #1 – Software Products
Take the core program, a handful of the best plug-ins and add-ons, bundle them together and have an installation script created that’ll install everything auotmatically for the end user.
Distribute on CD-Rom or DVD along with some video tutorials or a manual on how to use World Wind. This would open the program up to a whole new audience of users who otherwise would be intimidated by the program’s apparent complexity. Take something that looks hard and make it brain-dead easy. Market your CD-Rom based product to parents as a fun educational tool for their children. World Wind is available for Windows based PC’s and even PDA’s so you have lots of options here.
Idea #2 - Image Based Products
You’ll find the most intense beatiful imagery in World Wind most of which is Public Domain as it’s been gathered by agencies of the U.S. Government.
Be sure to the see the section above “Are images on World Wind copyrighted” for clarity as to what images may be protected. There’s no limit to what you can do with Public Domain images as you already know. The beautiful images you’ll find in World Wind can be used in any way you can imagine – posters, prints, calendars, ebooks covers and internal pictures, images for your print books and covers, and on and on.
Idea #3 – Videos & Documentaries
Record elements of World Wind and use in the production of videos and documentaries.
Just a few examples – produce a documentary on World War II and use World Wind to illustrate the movement of both Allied and Axis forces around the globe. Documentary about the Civil War? Chart General Sherman’s capture of Atlanta and subsequent march to the sea in which he and his troops decimated a hundred-mile-wide swath of Georgia. Events in history can be brought to life by using World Wind as a visual aid!
Idea #4 - Educational Products
Same thing goes with ANY educational product you may be offering.
World Wind can be used to create videos about geography, oceanography, volcanoes, animal migration, the paths taken by famous explorers, spots famous for UFO sitings, famous disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, spots where BigFoot has reportedly been sited, document the course taken during Charles Lindbergh’s famous solo nonstop Transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927, and on and on. Use World Wind to illustrate a virtual fly-over of the Sahara Desert, an arial tour of the Himalayas, a street by street guided tour of London, or literally anything else you could possibly imagine!
Interplantary tours are possible as well with the right add-ons and plug-ins.
Idea #5 – Use As Special Effects Footage
Creating a low-budget science-fiction film?
This is one of my favorites cause it’s just so much fun…I’ve got a friend that’s producing a campy science fiction film. The budget for special effects is next to nothing and he was very concerned about how he was going to generate scenes of outerspace and shots of planets and such. Most of the action in this film takes place aboard a travelling spaceship so you’ve got to have shots of outerspace and planet fly-bys to make it “authentic” right? Right!
When I showed my friend what’s possible with World Wind, he almost fell out of his chair!
He’s now in the process of using World Wind to create segments of his movie. I saw the opening scene the other day and it looks very impressive.
The movie opens with a scene of the Earth floating in space with the sun rising up behind it and some music to add the just the right “feel” – really, really cool.
He’s able to inject his movie with lots of great “special effects” now that never would have been possible before thanks to World Wind!
Can you think of more creative ways to use this powerful application in your product creations?
Leave a comment below and let’s discuss them!
About The Author:
 Logan Andrew is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2001. He is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Logan, click here. |
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Print This ArticleLast 5 posts by Logan:
- When U.S. Public Domain Magazines Enter The U.K. Public Domain
- Public Domain Author Spotlight: H. Rider Haggard, Adventure Novelist
- Public Domain Author Spotlight: Orison Swett Marden, Self-help Guru
- 17 Great Online Resources For Public Domain Comic Book Research
- When U.S. Works Enter The U.K. Public Domain
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WOW! What will they come up with next. That is amazing. It’s also a long time since I have heard Gustav Holtz (sp?) and The Planets. makes me wish I had all my albums with me.
It’s a fabulous educational tool…must give it some thought.
Thanks for another great find.
Ruth´s last blog ..YES, YOU CAN!!
[Reply]
Logan Reply:
March 26th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Hi Ruth,
The only BIG drawback to this is that you have to be a little “techie” to be able to fully leverage it in product creation (or hire someone “techie” to get done what you want to accomplish).
Hey, congratulations on your Associated Content article!
I meant to tell you that earlier but I forgot.
Keep up the good work!
[Reply]
Thanks Logan,
I really should spend more time doing articles because they really do bring in the traffic.
As for the software, in the 80s I was known as a ‘techie’. If someone wanted to know how to work their VCR, wire up their stereo system or use the early cell phones (I had a small briefcase for mine), I was the ‘go-to’ person. Somewhere along the line the technology flew past me and now I feel like a Luddite! Not only do I not remember which remote to switch on first and how to switch from TV to DVD, I can’t even make full use of my cell phone.
It sounds like I will be outsourcing…….another delayed project. Oh well…there is still lots to do.
Ruth
Ruth´s last blog ..YES, YOU CAN!!
[Reply]
Not really any question I want to ask at present as I am still getting acquainted with Public domain. Just want to say thanks for your willingness to share so much interesting info even with a newbie such as myself and for free. It is always a pleasure to get your e-mail.
Leo
[Reply]
Logan Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Hi Leo,
It’s great to hear from you and we appreciate the comments.
Just let us know if you do have a question ~ we’ll be right here.
Thanks Leo!
[Reply]
Hi Logan,
this is an interesting post and a surefire way to make money out of Government software;-) I have one question regarding this “US Government No Copyright” stuff (which is by the way completely different here in Germany).
I understand that everything released by the US government or by a Government or Military member etc etc. is in the public domain. Now I read on a website http://www.cendi.gov about restrictions, fair use and other legal stuff. Up to now my understanding was that, for example, I copy something interesting from a US governmental website (there are tons of valuable health docs and other stuff there) and publish it as an ebook and sell it. Is this really allowed without any constraint? I mean sure, if there is a copyright sign somewhere, hands off. But up to now I found on any .gov or .mil site the disclaimer that everything posted there is in the public domain. Can you shed some light on this for a non-US citizen?
All the best, Juergen.
[Reply]
Logan Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Hi Juergen, lol, I was going to tell you that I answered a similar question on a new post this week but you are already beat me to it before I could tell you!
[Reply]