Home / Skip Navigation LinksNews / News archive / Society / COWI aerial photos on Google Earth

COWI aerial photos on Google Earth 

Photo: COWI
A view of Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, at a resolution of 25 cm.
COWI and Google have entered an agreement to display COWI's digital orthophotos on Google Earth. The agreement will give COWI's photos worldwide exposure.

COWI and Google have entered an agreement to publish COWI's nationwide digital orthophotos on Google Earth - a virtual globe program that uses satellite and aircraft imagery to display towns and roads virtually anywhere on earth.

The agreement involves delivering photos of Denmark with a resolution of 25 cm. On photos like these, details such as buildings and streets stand out more clearly compared to the 40cm resolution previously used by Google for Denmark. For the larger Danish cities the resolution is down to 10 cm, offering an even sharper image.

Showcase for orthophotos

While the agreement improves Google's quality levels, it gives COWI an even greater showcase for its digital orthophotos.

Rasmus Ødum, Vice President of Geographical Information and IT at COWI explains: "Google Earth has a worldwide audience, so our international mapping business gets very wide exposure. The demand for good quality, high-resolution photos is increasing, and this is currently one of COWI's core competencies."

More aircraft and cameras

COWI is one of the leading European suppliers of maps and geodata. The business unit comprises some 500 employees, 300 of whom are in Kampsax, one of the COWI Group companies.

This particular sector has developed considerably over the last few years and to meet this need, COWI has invested in more aircraft, large-format digital cameras and laser scanners.

By Kathrine Schmeichel, kats@cowi.com
Published: 18.12.2007


Orthophotos 

An orthophoto is an aerial photo which has been processed to make it as accurate as a traditional map. This allows connecting photographic maps for an entire country to be created because unlike ordinary photos, orthophotos of adjoining areas fit together perfectly when connected.

When producing orthophotos, any disparities or variations in measurements in the original aerial photos must be corrected. This demands careful planning and extensive processing of the individual processes involved in the production process.

LAST UPDATED: 08.01.2010