Google Sketchup Model Your Campus Competition

Created by: David Hung, Conor Kevit, Jeffrey Lin, Mike Loecher, and Steve Wang

A team of students set out to model for Google Earth the entire campus of Johns Hopkins University in 3-D. After many long hours of work the Johns Hopkins University team (along with teams from several other countries) won! The project was a huge challenge: terrain was not uniform, & satellite images of the campus were outdated. Therefore, the team took the extra mile and used BALLOON AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY (BAP) to take aerial pictures of newly built infrastructure that Google Earth imagery does not show. The planning and execution of BAP took about 1 month. A camera, funded by the DMC Creative Use of Technology Grant , was hacked with a timer circuit and attached to helium balloons and sent up to 200 ft. It proved to be a difficult endeavor, since slight winds led to several crashes onto trees and roofs; and in one occasion a BB gun and crane/lift was needed to retrieve the balloons caught on trees. The aerial pictures were photo-stitched and edited using Adobe Photoshop; creating a top-down view of the newly built DECKER QUADRANGLE. In addition, blueprints of every building and topography measurements were obtained. The team is composed of students David Hung, Conor Kevit, Mike Loecher, and Steve Wang. The project was completed with the help of the Digital Media Center, Student Technology Services , Reid Sczerba and the Center for Educational Resources , Campus Security , and the Office of Facilities Management .

Check out the photo gallery documenting the Balloon Arial Photography by David Hung here .

Check out the finished 3-D models here. 

Download the latest version of Google Earth to navigate to and view the finished models of JHU buildings.

View a fly-through of the modeled Keyser Quad here.

And navigate the Virtual JHU project created by Student Technology Services.

Hacking the Digital Camera and David with the Balloon Arial Photography rig.

Balloon Arial Photography of the Decker Quad.

Balloon rig stuck in a tree! Campus Security officer attempting to shoot down the camera with a bb-gun

The campus painting crew comes to the rescue and retrieves the miraculously still functional camera.

Allignment and blending of Balloon Arial Photography on top of the original, outdated satellite imagery and the blueprint of the new Decker Quadrangle.

Resources Used: DMC Computer Lab, Hacked Digital Camera, Adobe Photoshop, Google Sketchup