Export historical Google Earth image to Sketchup

SketchUp
1

I am trying to import from Google Earth My Places where I have layers setup, and I would like to put this into SU 8. Specifically, I am looking for terrain data as I would like to draw contour lines in SU and make a 3D topographic model that I can build upon.

I know there is the “Add Location” feature where you can select a region, and “Toggle Terrain” pulls in the elevation data, however, the image I would like is a historical image. The up to date satellite image that SU pulls in has a lot of tree cover, but there is a historical satellite image available in GE where the land has been cleared, giving a much more accurate representation of actual elevation.

Is there a way to export this historical image/terrain data from GE into SU? Would changing SU versions help? If I cannot export the layers, that is fine as it will not be difficult to redraw; I mainly want the historical image/ data for contours in SU.

Thanks

2

The way I would attempt to do this is as follows:

  1. Use the “Add Location” tool to snapshot the terrain and latest imagery of the area.
  2. Go to the paint bucket tool and edit the texture. Setup photoshop as your external image editor in preference to do so.
  3. In Google Earth, export your historical image.
  4. In Photoshop, place the historical image overtop the latest image to align correctly. Slide the opacity to help see the differences better. Flatten the image and then save it so that it relinks back to you’re sketchup model.
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3

Skptrainer’s suggestion looks like the right one to me. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t make historical imagery available through their Maps API- which is the imagery source we use for Add Location.

There are other choices for map data in SketchUp, as well. You might give the Mapbox extension a try: Extension | SketchUp Extension Warehouse

John
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