Google Maps 3D Models: How to Import Them into Your Favorite Software

Game Dev Academy shared a handy tip on how to download the 3D models used in Google Maps & Google Earth so that you can use them in your scenes. It's a tip identical for aerial views, as for close-up shots, you probably need to tweak the models a lot!

Have you ever found yourself wondering through google maps and imagining how cool it would be to get access to that 3D models?? Me too! I have been thinking about this for almost 2 years now and finally decided to give it a shot.

google maps download 3d model

Thinking about it, this method can be applied to a lot more than google earth models... movies? In this particular case I just wanted to get the corner of a particular building in the city of New York city, but you will see how this method can to much more.

In the past I remember people using programs like 3D ripper that would capture the geometry directly from openGL, I actually tried it once but without any luck. Also, I think this program only works for windows. In this Instructable I will teach you how to capture the 3d models with texture from google earth using the photogrammetry approach.

A good tip here is to only capture the section of the window with no words, logs or icons, this will save you time later and increase your chances of success. This is also one of the reasons why I like using google earth better than google maps, you can turn all icons off.

Select the free product only option and click on the model you want to download, then search for the model you want and select it. Sketchfab is the last website on the list to have an easy-to-use, straightforward, and interactive interface. In addition to 3D models, the site has a large number of tutorials. If you download an already completed 3d model, you will be able to complete larger projects faster. More drafters and designers can also save you money on models.

In this case, the procedure is a little more complex than the terrain itself and more tools need to be used. To get the model, we use the CADMAPPER web tool, which uses freely available maps from OpenStreetMap as a source. The tool allows you to download a 3D model up to 1 km area for free. Larger areas are paid. In most cases, 1 km is perfectly fine. By covering the entire print area (25 x 21 cm), we get the ideal scale for the model (approximately 1: 4000 to 1: 5000).

3D (three dimensional) geologic models are digital representations of geologic data in 3D space. Using these models, surficial and subsurface data may be viewed from various perspectives. This would otherwise be impossible with traditional flat maps. Events, such as landslides, water table fluctuations, or earthquakes can also be modeled with this technique.

Various 3D geologic models are available for you to download and explore. Click on the interactive map below to obtain Google Earth KMZ files depicting the 1:100,000-scale geology for each county in the state. There is also a depth to bedrock model for the Puget Lowland available below.

First, you can download 3D model after the process is completed. The button is in the left bottom of a task. When it already downloaded, extract that file to a folder. The 3D model was located there (*.Obj extension).

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No problems. All my educational tools are freely and publicly available, so please feel free to takescreenshots, generate charts or download models for use in any of your commercial and/or personal projectdocumentation or presentations. A source acknowledgement is desirable on imagery used in published reports,but not entirely necessary as the overall aesthetic is quite readily recognisable.

High resolution imagery can be used for many purposes, including digital and print maps, backgrounds for drawings, or perspective images of the new 3D imagery. This tutorial will show you how to find, download, print, and stitch together those images.

With the integrated Location Browser it is possible to find and download map areas from almost every place on earth directly in Photoshop. The Location Browser has its own search function, but you can also use coordinates or Google Map URL. Additionally there is a GPX file upload available to create maps with a track on it.

Example of use: infographic, presentation, websites and blogs, visitor maps, navigation, complex geographic illustrations, teaching material, weather maps, tourist guide, 3d print model, 3d photo, travel report, travel pages, route visualization, illustrations

No Photoshop? No Problem: 3D-Mapper is also available as an online service! The finished 3D maps can be downloaded as 3D files, as snapshots or for embedding on a website. There are also high-res source images (heightmap and different surface textures) available for download. Find more options on the website:

Aerotriangulation, whose aim was to define the images obtained in the selected coordinate system, was another stage of the research. The first step was to reconstruct their mutual internal orientation (Siebert and Teizer 2014). In the research, the images were adjusted to the same coordinate system in which GCPs were defined. Reconstructing mutual internal orientation is possible thanks to EXIF files of the images obtained that include metadata describing the images. It allows one to determine their approximate location in space. Then, the mutual orientation of images was reconstructed again, however, this time on the basis of GCPs assumed that had been previously surveyed by means of GNSS. The Agisoft Metashape Professional software was used for this purpose. According to Uysal et al. (2015), the software mentioned is used particularly frequently for working out images obtained from UAVs and allows one to generate Digital Terrain Model and orthophotomaps in the coordinate system defined by the user. As a result of aerotriangulation based on GCPs, the value of RMSE, describing deviations between tie points and the points calculated from the photogrammetric model generated, was calculated. On the basis of the results from Table 2, one can conclude that point no 2 had the largest error (1.5 cm), and the smallest error was determined for point no 4 (0.8 cm). The average value of RMSE calculated for all GCPs was 1.2 cm.

Having met the two particular goals adopted for the research, the authors can conclude that also the main aim of the research. In a comprehensive manner, it was primarily possible to combine archival data obtained from topographic maps (Fig. 7c) with a 3D model of the windmill obtained on the basis of low-level aerial imagery (Fig. 6). This confirms the correctness of the research conducted by the authors by combining geohistorical and geocomputational approches (Wilson 2005; Wästfelt 2020). Research conducted by the authors allows to increase the degree of interactivity in the way spatial data is presented (MacEachren 1994), and also by placing this data on the Internet, where the potential reach of geovisual recipients is increased. At this point, it should also be pointed out that the technical infrastructure, which, in accordance with the assumptions of the INSPIRE Directive, is becoming more and more dynamically developing in Poland and throughout Europe, is to provide access to spatial data (Bielecka and Medyńska-Gulij 2015). The authors of this article indicate that in the future, thanks to this technical infrastructure, the studies implemented on the Internet, i.e., three-dimensional cartographic visualizations will be made available to a wider group of users, including researchers. Undoubtedly, such a situation would contribute to the faster development of various fields of science and economy.