Skip the navigation
News

Discovery Channel launches Web app aimed at tackling climate change

Rich Web app lets users see real-time satellite data on polar melting, other changes

By Heather Havenstein
February 11, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - The Discovery Channel today launched a new 3-D Rich Internet Application (RIA) called Earth Live that allows users to interact with scientific data and visualize events such as climate change and polar melting in real time.

Earth Live shows 1-day-old scientific data collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and lets users layer that data with different characteristics like chemical emissions, cloud coverage, rainfall or temperatures to see how these factors affect the Earth, noted Randy Rieland, senior vice president of digital media at the Discovery Channel.

For example, users can track storms in real time or track how increasing temperatures at the polar ice caps threaten to raise sea levels, he said.

"The real goal is to have people interact with this sort of information and do something meaningful with it so it is not just looking at something on a map," Rieland said. "This is based on real satellite data reflecting yesterday's [conditions]. People are able to mix these layers and ideally be able to see correlations among the different things that are happening … with aerosols from satellite photos, you can see how they are related to sea surface temperatures."

In addition to the 3-D rendering with satellite data, the application will also provide a feature called "Field Reports" which will include blogs or podcasts from scientists about their research, he added.

"It is science in progress ... to reinforce this notion that research is going on at all time," Rieland said. "It is to make this whole experience feel more organic and more dynamic and more plugged into the real world."

The application was created by EffectiveUI Inc., a design and development firm that builds RIAs using Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flex open-source development tool and Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), which allows RIAs to run offline. The Earth Live application, however, only runs online.

Anthony Franco, president of Denver-based EffectiveUI, said that one of the challenges in building the application was to make it easy for users to interact with complicated data sets. "A lot of the data is coming from NASA and NOAA, and it takes rocket scientist to manipulate and look through [it]," he said. "The challenge for us was to summarize the data so it doesn't require a rocket scientist to play with it. The globe is very easy to manipulate, and it is simple to add layers.

In addition, Discovery Channel created a widget of the application so that users can embed it in MySpace, Facebook or their own blogs to "evangelize the application," he noted.

Currently, creating a widget is the only way to save a user-created customized 3-D rendering. Rieland said that Discovery would like to create an archiving capability so that the models created can be saved.

He also noted that for the application to be successful, it will need to be supported by a community of users with a shared interest who use the tool to connect with one another.

"If we can only create pretty pictures on a globe, it won't last long," Rieland added. "We need to make sure we keep it fresh and dynamic. It has to be a place that feels alive and not just a beautiful display."

Read more about Internet in Computerworld's Internet Topic Center.



Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Internet White Papers
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
X-Ray of the PCI Process-4 Proactive Steps
This white paper from Forrester Research Inc., helps break PCI into understandable components. Security and risk professionals will gain knowledge and insight into...
All Internet White Papers
Internet Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All Internet Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs