BirdsEye (TM) = ?
When I saw the title of the most recent press release from Garmin, I was sure they’d partnered with Pictometry on its oblique imagery: “Garmin® Launches BirdsEyeTM Satellite and Aerial Imagery.” But, no, the imagery is from DigitalGlobe and is explained this way:
BirdsEye Imagery is raster-based, meaning it is compiled using actual aerial photos and images that are scanned, geo-referenced and overlaid onto the handheld GPS receiver’s display. Unlike vector cartography, the resulting images depict actual buildings, vehicles, roads, trails, and land features found nearby – giving explorers a unique understanding of their surroundings.
Pricing? “An annual subscription is $29.99, and it allows the user unlimited downloads for a single Garmin device.”
If you key in “birds eye imagery” to Google, the top returns are for Bing maps.
If you key in “birds eye digitalglobe” you find a press release about a 2004 deal between DigitalGlobe and a company called Bird’s Eye Imagery to sell “sell high-quality art prints of satellite imagery.”
