Main Page of the 3D Warehouse |
|
| URL | sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Search, share and store 3D models |
| Registration | Optional |
| Available language(s) | Multiple |
| Owner | |
| Launched | April 24, 2006 |
| Current status | Active |
The Google 3D Warehouse is an accompanying website for Google SketchUp where modelers can upload, download and share three dimensional models.[1] The site was created on April 24, 2006.
The site enables modelers to create collections of models and uses algorithms to determine similar models. Individual models can be viewed in 3D from within a browser. PC World reported in 2008 that 3D Warehouse allows users without significant artistic inclination to make and populate 3D models.[2]
The New York Times reported in 2008 that 3D Warehouse had become a virtual "dictionary" of 3D vocabulary, reporting its suitability in film making, for example: "you can find insanely detailed three-dimensional virtual models of most major building structures of the world. Need a street in San Francisco? Here’s a filmable virtual set. With powerful search and specification tools, high-resolution clips of any bridge in the world can be circulated into the common visual dictionary for reuse. Out of these ready-made “words,” a film can be assembled, mashed up from readily available parts. The rich databases of component images form a new grammar for moving images."
3D Warehouse allows models to be loaded to Google Earth after review for accuracy.[3][4] Users can select the option when uploading their models to verify if it is "Google Earth Ready," which will verify if the building is a real, current, and correctly-located model of the building. If a "Google Earth Ready" model is submitted, within a few weeks, the model will go through a review of several Google employees who check the models qualifications under certain acceptance criteria.[5] If the model passes, it is added to the "3D Warehouse Layer," and will soon be visible within Google Earth itself by checking the box in the sidebar that is labeled "3D Buildings."