Thursday, April 09, 2015

The Antique WebGL Globe


I've always wanted to own an antique globe. As it doesn't look like I'm going to realize this dream anytime soon I decided to make my own virtual antique globe. You can make one too!

Here's how to make a virtual WebGL antique globe:

Step 1. WebGL Earth

The WebGL Earth library already has a great Globe example using an old map of the world. Cut & paste the source code and you're done.

Step 2. Add Other Maps

The David Rumsey Map Collection has geo-referenced thousands of maps. You can use these geo-referenced maps in your own online maps by simply linking to the map tile-set URL. So all you have to do is find some maps and add them to your WebGL Earth globe with the .addTo(earth) function.

Here's the result - The Antique WebGL Globe

Unfortunately the WebGL Earth API doesn't appear to have a removeLayer(earth) function. The result is that you end up just adding more & more map layers to the globe and it gets a bit buggy very quickly.

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