What makes Globe4D so special?
For more than five hundred years globes have been the traditional scale model of Earth we know today. Traditional globes show one static image of Earth and generally can only be rotated along a single axis. Current related research projects, several examples of which are discussed in the paper about Globe4D, generally have few or no options for physical interaction.
Globe4D is an interactive installation that consists of a physical sphere on which three dimensional images are projected. Unlike conventional Globes, Globe4D can show dynamic images, which can be viewed from all angles and can be controlled directly by the user. This project introduces time as a fourth dimension for a globe.
The user can interact with Globe4D in two ways. Namely by rotating the sphere itself and by turning a ring around the sphere. When rotating the sphere itself, the projected images rotate along with the input movement. Turning the ring around the sphere controls time as the fourth dimension of the globe.
“In our installation we enable the user to go back in time more than 750 million years. You can see the continental drift perfectly during your time-travel!”
Also on a smaller timescale you can see Earth changing. Live weather images and daylight changes can be projected on the globe, as well as earthquakes, hurricanes or climate changes. You could even think of going to the center of the earth by zooming in on its crust, peeling layers of as if it were an onion.
Globe4D is not limited to earth alone. You can touch the Sun, rotate Mars, watch the other side of the Moon! Every spherical object can be projected on the globe… And if needs to be viewed in a different time perspective just rotate the time wheel.
“Globe4D incorporates the best of both the digital and non-digital worlds. It combines the hands-on interactivity of classical globes with the flexibility and versatility that digital techniques offer.”.
Projecting dynamic images and enabling users to control these images in real-time and in four dimensions is what sets Globe4D apart from other digital globes.
The Globe4D Software and Data Model make it possible to project various kinds of educational, scientific or artistic data on a sphere. The combination with the Hardware makes it a direct manipulation device in four dimensions.
Globe4D can be used for educational purposes by for example museums of Natural History, schools, research institutes and universities.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:20 am
Can it be expanded to include information on sunspots, comets, meteors, etc.? Other solar system objects and events that might have an influence on our weather?
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
Currently we’re doing planets as well. It’s great to see most planets of our solar system related to each other. We’ve got animations of sunspots and for example storms on Jupiter.