Airplane tickets are no longer a necessity in order to fly around the world, with Google Earth embracing virtual reality in what may prove to be one of the best VR apps to date. Currently free on an exclusive basis for HTC Vive owners, Google Earth VR allows users to walk the streets of London or Tokyo, stand on mountains or fly over the Grand Canyon.
Using the Vive wand as a pointer and grabber, users can spin and grab a globe and zoom in and out as they wish.
Here, CBR counts down some of the most amazing places to go with Google Earth VR.
Florence
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Google has ensured that users do not get motion sickness when zooming and flying around – Google Engineering Lead, Dominik Kaeser said that this was a priority for user experience, with Google adding a feature called ‘tunnel vision’ which restricts what the user can see when flying around.
The Alps
With just a tap of the Vive wand you can transport from inside Florence Cathedral to a bird’s eye view of the city. Using the HTC Vive, you can walk and move through stadiums and landmarks which would otherwise be off-limits to tourists.
Hong Kong
The app comes with a set of pre-loaded coordinates in a simple menu interface – for those who may be in need of inspiration before jetting off. It is not just landmarks which are on offer – festivals like Burning Man and outer space locations can also be visited.
Colosseum
HTC Vive is the device of choice for Google as users need to be able to move around and, for now, the HTC is the best option. Although touch controllers for the Oculus Rift are due out soon, Google has made no plans as of yet to extend the app to other devices.
Hoover Dam
Goodness knows how many hours you could waste travelling the world – for now, Google Earth VR is one of the best VR apps around. It also shows that Google is willing to invest big on VR projects beyond its own Daydream and Cardboard devices.
