We live in what can be a very small world .....
For instance, software like Google Earth allow many of us to see vast areas of the world, from the comfort of our desks or even on our phones.
Of course these images aren't real-time views, like the military satellite views available to the US and some others. So they are more like static snapshots of the world at a given moment ... frozen in time until Google refresh that particular world view a few years later.
This makes little difference in the normal run of things, and can be quite interesting. For instance, when I view my street, I still see my old car parked outside, as well as the house with a window style that was changed when I had new double glazing.
But occasionally these time frozen snapshots capture an unexpected event, and freezes it for everyone to see. For instance, William Moldt, was reported missing from Lantana, Florida, on 7 November 1997. He wasn't found and the search was dropped .... it became what is known as a cold case. Then 22 years after the case went cold, on the 28th of August 2019, someone spotted a ghostly view, in a satellite image of the pond at Moon Bay Circle, Wellington, Florida.
After verifying what he had seen using his own personal camera drone, he reported the view to the police, who extracted the remains of Mr Moldt .... of course this was pure luck. The Google Earth satellite photo of the area had in fact shown the sunken car since 2007, but wasn't spotted by anyone.
However, Google Earth also freezes more obvious instances of distress .... Kevin Barrera was 14 years old when he was found, shot to death alongside a set of rail road tracks in August 2009 .... His body was discovered by a passer-by the next morning. The crime was never solved, but the moment that the police discovered him was captured on satellite image.
Unusually, Google agreed to update the image before its scheduled replacement date, at the request of his parents. However, in one of those ironies of our times, the image is captured forever in the search results of the Google search engine .... nothing is completely lost in our digital age.
One day, sooner or later, Google Earth Views will capture the exact instance of a crime such as a murder, in such detail that the criminal perpetrator will be able to be identified .... its only a matter of time before a crime is solved by Google .... and probably in real time.
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| US Embassy Car Park - London |
For instance, software like Google Earth allow many of us to see vast areas of the world, from the comfort of our desks or even on our phones.
Of course these images aren't real-time views, like the military satellite views available to the US and some others. So they are more like static snapshots of the world at a given moment ... frozen in time until Google refresh that particular world view a few years later.
This makes little difference in the normal run of things, and can be quite interesting. For instance, when I view my street, I still see my old car parked outside, as well as the house with a window style that was changed when I had new double glazing.
But occasionally these time frozen snapshots capture an unexpected event, and freezes it for everyone to see. For instance, William Moldt, was reported missing from Lantana, Florida, on 7 November 1997. He wasn't found and the search was dropped .... it became what is known as a cold case. Then 22 years after the case went cold, on the 28th of August 2019, someone spotted a ghostly view, in a satellite image of the pond at Moon Bay Circle, Wellington, Florida.
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| William Moldt's Car Spotted From Space ..... |
After verifying what he had seen using his own personal camera drone, he reported the view to the police, who extracted the remains of Mr Moldt .... of course this was pure luck. The Google Earth satellite photo of the area had in fact shown the sunken car since 2007, but wasn't spotted by anyone.
However, Google Earth also freezes more obvious instances of distress .... Kevin Barrera was 14 years old when he was found, shot to death alongside a set of rail road tracks in August 2009 .... His body was discovered by a passer-by the next morning. The crime was never solved, but the moment that the police discovered him was captured on satellite image.
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| Solved By Google? - Not Quite, But Maybe Soon ... |
Unusually, Google agreed to update the image before its scheduled replacement date, at the request of his parents. However, in one of those ironies of our times, the image is captured forever in the search results of the Google search engine .... nothing is completely lost in our digital age.
One day, sooner or later, Google Earth Views will capture the exact instance of a crime such as a murder, in such detail that the criminal perpetrator will be able to be identified .... its only a matter of time before a crime is solved by Google .... and probably in real time.
Fascinating piece. There's lots to discover on Google Earth but where will we find the time to do it?
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year by the way.
Hi Vroomfondel nice to hear from you mate and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you and your family!
DeleteIn response I believe that this is where A.I. technology will find its real niche. Facial and body recognition is advancing hugely and combined with Quantum computing could soon make it feasible to search Google and other satellite image databases for all sorts of things. Archaeological, Geological as well as bodies or abandoned vehicles.
The future could soon be very much based on A.I. and the Internet of Things.
Thanks for the comment. I always appreciate them.