Panoramic Earth Moves to HTML5

It has been a while coming, but Panoramic Earth is now moving to an HTML5 panorama viewing engine. Up to now the site has been using a Flash version of KRPano. While this has proved great for several years, Flash is not well supported by mobile devices, especially if made by Apple. As the number of mobile users has increased, so this anomaly has been a growing issue.

Panorama of British Museum - Great Court from Stairs supplied by Panoramic Earth

For a while it has been possible to render equirectangular spherical panoramic images in HTML5, but not cylindrical. This meant that only part of the content of the site could be viewed with the new viewer. However, things have now moved on meaning that over the next few days all the 10,500 plus panoramas will be converted to the new version.
The viewing engine still comes from KRPano, one of the most popular panorama viewers on the market. With it come some new functions as well. Practically speaking, viewers on computers will notice little difference, but for mobile devices this will transform their user experience.

Exploring Mallorca

Most of those who visit Mallorca this summer will inevitably spend almost all their time in their own hotel or beach resort, or walking around the shopping streets of Palma. Then there are the large crowds that are bused to some major tourist attraction to join the thousands of others. These people will miss out on many of the fine things that Mallorca has to offer, little villages tucked away in the mountains, tiny Calas along the northern coast, ancient forts and castles on the hills.

As this map below shows, Mallorca has so much more to offer, and it is worth making the effort to get out and explore a little. Away from the beaches, many Mallorca hotels are tucked away in beautiful surroundings with dramatic views.

Mallorca tour provided by Panoramic Earth. All rights reserved.

And here is a view over Cala Banyalbufar, just one of the small Calas that line the dramatic northern coast. Not as easy to get to as the beaches on the south, but incredibly beautiful and quiet.

Panorama of View over Cala Banyalbufar supplied by Panoramic Earth

Spurious Patent Threatens VR Technologies

According to the IVRPA, an incorrectly granted patent now threatens all creation, distribution and use of all and any virtual tour technology and images, whether for commercial or personal use. Dated June 2nd 2004, the '400 patent (US Patent 6754400) places a potential strangle hold on all virtual tour photographers, developers of panoramic image software, any company displaying these images and any person pursuing this as a hobby.

The IVRPA sate that the patent also covers the use of any lens combination, any method of creating and storing such images digitally, use and generation of hotspots within panoramic images, use of mouse to manipulate images. The company holding the patent has already sued VT producers and clients using the images, shutting a few down.

Every aspect covered by this patent is had been previously published. Back in 1998, 6 years before the issue of the '400 patent, Professor Helmut Dersch developed Pano Tools and released the code under the GNU General Public License and there are commercial agreements as far back as 1999 that cite the use of VT technoligies, like this one with Microsoft, no less.

It seem remarkable, therefore, that the US Patent office should have granted the '400 patent, but the industry is now in the costly position of having to contend this ridiculous patent. Arrogant attempts to starnglehold the industry have been tried before, most notably the failed attempt by iPix.

360 Panorama of Whole Night Sky

Every so often something amazing comes along that truly has the capacity to make one stop and just go 'Wow'. The Photopic Sky Survey is one of those things. Photographer Nick Risinger travelled nearly 60,000 miles taking individual images of the night time sky and then painstakingly stitched them together to form a composite 360° night time panorama.

The task was painstaking, dividing the sky into 624 uniformly spaced areas and then seeking out light-free places from which to capture the images using 6 cameras. Each sector was photographed 60 time using 4 short, 4 medium, and 4 long shots for each camera to help to reduce the amount of noise, overhead satellite trails and other unwanted artifacts.

The result is stunning. A fully interactive spherical image that shows the night sky if one was suspended in space where the earth should be. The Milky Way and other galaxies can be explored, zoomed in on and panned around. As if that was not enough, the interactive image can be overlaid with the stellar constellations sky map.

This is a truly amazing achievement. And now to find a HD projector and blank wall...

St Paul de Vence and Alpes Martimes

It is always great to see new parts of the world open up on Panoramic Earth. Recent additions by Isabel Marques show the beautiful countryside around St Paul de Vance in France. This beautiful, medieval town grew up around a hill fort in the Alpes Martimes just north of Nice. The earliest fortifications around the town date from the 13th century, and it is still surrounded by 16th century walls.

Panorama of Alpes Maritimes, St. Paul de Vence supplied by Panoramic Earth

In addition to the beautiful countryside shown in the virtual tour above, St Paul de Vence has on offer several museums, including the world famous Fondation Maegh.The town is a delight to walk around, relax in and has numerous rustic cafes on offer. It makes an ideal day-trip for those wanting a break from the bustle of Nice.

This panorama is free to embed in your site. Please see the Embed Tour page for details.

Beautiful Panorama of Rome

Just one of the many dramatic 360° panoramic views and virtual tours of Rome. This one was created from a series of images taken on a sunny day while walking around the Cupola of St Peters Basilica in the Vatican. It provides a dramatic 360 view of the Roman skyline.

Panorama of Rome from the Vatican Cupola supplied by Panoramic Earth

See the complete virtual tour of Rome, featuring pictures and information from many of the most important and popular landmarks and tourist attractions around the city, or search out your favourite place on the Rome panorama index.

Travelling to Rome? Check out these cheap Rome hotel deals.

Personal Panoramic Image Maps

Available to anyone who uploads 30+ virtual tour panoramas to Panoramic Earth is now able to embed their own collective virtual tour on their site(s). Using simple, cut and paste code, this personal tour will show the location of their panoramas linked to Google maps.

Always starting at the latest location they added, and automatically updated with you new images, this is a great way to allow people to view your latest work added to the site.

And how to get the code? The option becomes available when you reach the 30 image target. Then you simply need to go to your profile and select the Personal Maps option listed near the bottom of the profile menu. Copy the presented code and there you have it. Below is tour for Peter Watts.

Virtual tour provided by Panoramic Earth. All rights reserved.

Merry Christmas from Panoramic Earth

Wishing all our readers and site users all the blessings of the season and a great start to 2011. To round off the year, here is a fantastic panorama taken by Malcolm Etherington of a snow-covered Lyme Regis and coast in the UK after unusually cold weather. Thanks and enjoy.

Panorama of Lyme Regis Beach at Christmas supplied by Panoramic Earth

Beaches in the NightTime

Praia da Lagoinha is a very pretty beach in Ubatuba, Brazil. When sitting in the depths of the cold, English winter, one can be look longingly at the stretches of sand and sea, viewed here at sunset under a full moon.

Panorama of Praia da Lagoinha Noturna supplied by Panoramic Earth

Much thanks to Emilio Campi for sharing this image with us. Can we come and visit please?

Edinburgh in the Snow

Edinburgh, like much of the rest of Britain, has been covered in snow in recent days. Stuart Robertson, one of our intrepid photographers, has been out and about capturing some of the scenes of the city. Nothing shows the scene more clearly than the view from the top of Nelsons Monument in the heart of the city, shown below:

Panorama of From The Top Of Nelsons Monument In The Snow supplied by Panoramic Earth

Less than a mile from the centre of Edinburgh is Holyrood Park, dominated by the Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. These snow covered slopes provide another stunning view over the city, as well as a fantastic playground for snow fights, tobogganing and sledging.

Snow has the magical effect of transforming buildings. And so it has transformed the appearance of the Scottish Parliament building opposite the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Built to remind people of the Scottish landscape, the snow covered building now blends in well with Salisbury Crags behind it.

The Wonders of Vienna

Vienna, the capital city of Austria, has much to offer visitors year round. With many magnificent historical buildings and world-class museums, the historical center of Vienna is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vienna is also considered a fantastic place to live, being recently ranked 1st out of 127 world cities for quality of life.

Panorama of Michaelerplatz supplied by Panoramic Earth

During the summer, people freely wander through beautiful parks and squares, browse the museums and markets. In the winter there is the famous Christmas market held outside the Rathaus, the wonders of the Prater park and amusements and numerous concerts.

Panorama near Dent de Jaman

Demonstrating the ability to embed a single Virtual Tour panorama, this cylindrical image shows the view from Dent de Jaman, a 1875m high mountain rising above Montreux, situated north of Rochers de Naye in the Vaud region of Switzerland.

Panorama of Near the Dent de Jaman supplied by Panoramic Earth

Anyone can embed any panorama from Panoramic Earth in a non-commercial website for free. Whole regional tour options are also available, showing a collection of images linked to a map of the area.

Welcome to Henry Stuart and Spherical Images Ltd

Henry Stuart is one of the latest photographers to join the growing list of contributors on Panoramic Earth. He has over 5 years experience in the industry and is the founder of Spherical Images Ltd, 'a London-based virtual tour company, providing HD quality virtual tours...allowing clients to bring their venues to the customer with unparalleled impact and quality'.

Through his work and passion, Henry has photographed many of the top locations within the UK, including the top of the Swiss Re (Gherkin) building, Royal Albert Hall and the London Aquarium. As shown below, he is not adverse to working in challenging and dangerous conditions.

Say Hello to a Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon (c) Henry Stuart, used by permission

Henry says one of the most scary asignments he has done was creating a Virtual Tour of the Komodo Dragon, Raja, at London Zoo. The experience involved getting close up and personal with the dragon, which attacked the camera and then chased the curator round the enclosure as he tried to rescue the camera gear from a very sticky end. Henry says the kit had to be chemically disinfected by zoo specialists and still smelt of Komodo spit months later!

They had just one take, which caught this amazing image of the dragon head on. In the end, completing the shot in the Komodo Dragon enclosure was too risky, and the image was super-imposed on a tour created of the less-life-threatening, adjacent turtle enclosure, which explains the presence of the turtle in another part of the virtual tour.

Some of his favourite images can be found Spherical Images with many being uploaded also on Panoramic Earth.

Embed Single Panorama Option Launched

Panoramic Earth has just launched the ability for non-commercial websites to embed individual 360° panoramas within your own websites for free. So creators of blogs, personal sites etc can now embed stunning, full screen panoramas within their pages, absolutely free. Please see the Terms and Conditions for details, register with Panoramic Earth and follow the procedure given below.

Embedding Panoramas Step 1
Below every panorama is an EMBED button, as shown below. Simply click on this to start the procedure.

Embedding Panoramas Step 2
Select the Single Image Embedding radial and then click on Continue as shown below.


Embedding Panoramas Step 3
Select the height and width you want to have on your site. The code will be recalculated. Then click on Select to select all the code presented as shown below. Simply copy this and paste it into your web page. Job done. The code must be used in it's entirety, without changing any part of it. This is part of the T&C's for this service.


Embedding Panoramas - The Result And the result is a stunning image within your website, as shown here for the Colosseum in Rome.

Panorama of Colosseum of Rome supplied by Panoramic Earth

Enjoy. If enough people ask for alternative methods of embedding, such as iframes, then we will look into implementing these too.

Embedding Single Images

This is a test post to try out tow different versions of ways to embed single images from Panoramic Earth onto blogs. At some point, at least one of these methods will become obsolete so one of these embedded images may fail to work in the future.

Javascript Embedding

Panorama of Whalers Bluff Lighthouse supplied by Panoramic Earth

Iframe Embedding

Monaco Tourist Attractions Tour

Monaco is famous for luxury hotels, luxury yachts and the Monte Carlo Casino. It is also full of important historical sites, museums and other attractions, mostly focussed around Monaco-Ville, the old part of Monaco.


Thanks to Isabel Marques, Panoramic Earth has a growing tour of Monaco which shows interactive, 360° panoramas taken of some of the main sights and attractions. A complete index of Monte Carlo attractions and lists of images tagged Monaco also help users explore the various locations and attractions featured.


As with other Panoramic Earth tours, the Monaco map, guide and virtual tour can be embedded in other sites as interactive content.

Improvements to Image Uploading

Panoramic Earth has recently launched a new uploading procedure for adding 360° panoramas to the site. In response to user observations, and fully described on the Panorama Upload Help page, the new method allows:

• Batch uploading of panoramas to an individual holding area.
• Automatic detection of Cylindrical and Spherical panorama format.
• Automatic check compatibility of image with site requirements.
• Individual image management, editing, and allocation to a specific location within the site.
• Modular system allows you to upload now and complete the process at a later time.
• Faster uploading and fewer failed uploads.

With nearly 100 contributing photographers and 6,000 panoramas worldwide, we will continue to work on improving the site layout and function. Any and all feedback on this new process gratefully received!

Promoted on Radio Bremen

Panoramic Earth is gaining increasing exposure and commendation throughout the internet. Two recent recommendations coming from:

1. Radio Bremen's Surftipps Section - Die Welt als Panorama article commends Panoramic earth for clarity, high resolution images, clear mapping in information about nearby locations.
   
   
2. ClicRBS - major Brazilian portal website recommends Panoramic Earth's Budapest Tour with coverage of the major sites in the city.

These are just two of the recent articles written about the site, which now has nearly 6,000 panoramas from all over the world.

Viewing 360 Panoramas on iPad and iPhone

Krpano has been quick to take up the challenge of providing a way to view 360 panoramas on iPhone and iPad devices. Neither the iPhone or iPad support Flash, preventing many applications most web users take for granted, including the most popular panorama viewers, from working on them.

Krpano have already released a Javascript based viewer that uses CSS 3D transforms to display the panoramas. Currently there are still limitations, the CSS 3D transforms used are only available as Webkit extensions in the Mobile Safari and in the Mac Safari Browsers, and the viewer will only work with Cubic panoramas.

No doubt, further developments will follow, and it will not be long before Spherical, Equirectangular, Cylindrical, Small Planet, Partial panoramas and all the other projections we like to play around with will work on these mobile devices. At Panoramic Earth, we will follow this with keen interest, and are already seeking ways of implementing this for the panoramas we have.

Flash will probably still remain popular for many panorama viewers, but this demonstrates once again how fast technology moves on the web, and how quickly developers respond to the new opportunities and challenges.

Singapore - High Resolution Panoramas

Raffles Landing Site, Singapore. 360 panorama (c) Peter Watts - all rights reserved

There are now over 100, high resolution, 360° virtual tour panoramas from Singapore now on Panoramic Earth. These images cover many of the sights and attractions of Singapore city and the wider island. They show various shots of the skyscrapers around Boat Bay and Clarke Quay, but also the interior of many temples and churches, some from Singapore Zoo and some of Sentosa Island.

The latest image is a hand-held panorama taken inside the shark's tunnel at the Underwater World Attraction on Setnosa Island, shown below.

Sharks Tunnel - Underwater World, Singapore. 360 panorama (c) Peter Watts - all rights reserved