Sketchup-Ur-Space

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth

Rajib Dey: Editor-in-chief

1. At first download sketchup make (free) as well as Google Earth Pro (free)

2. Install sketchup with the help of a template in meters. Turn on the big tool set and tool bars which are available in the view menu

3. Select add location situated at google tool bar. Put 35.236390° and 53.950016° in the coordinates and click ‘Select Region’ located at the top right.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

4. In order to pick the territory just about the gantry tower, drag the pins. Ensure to take in the complete shadow. Once it is ready, press Grab for importing the image into SketchUp.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

5. Now there is an image along the red and green axes. The blue denotes the vertical space. Now, rearrange the axes to the corner of the tower and sketch a rectangle around the base. Zoom in and out unless you notice the position where the shadow meets the structure.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

6. To transform 2D rectangle into a 3D tower, use the Push Pull tool. Afterwards, go to View menu and select shadows. Here, the shadow produced by SketchUp is not equivalent with the one in the imagery.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

7. In order to modify it, return to Google Earth and check when the image was selected. SketchUp is just pulling the API from Google. It is located on the bottom right of the window.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

Capture the slider bar and change it unless the shadow produced by sketchup, match with the imagery shadow. It may not bring the right height, but the SketchUp shadow contains the identical shape as well as the “width” of the shadow on the satellite image.

8. Fine-tune the height of our tower to ensure that the shadows are matched. Use a tape measure and check how tall it is.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

9. Make sure that the tower is on top of a pad that is also elevated (see its shadow?). For being more perfect, you must create it too.

Some useful tricks to calculate height of structure on Google Earth
Image Courtesy: bellingcat.com

This process may be difficult for crowded structures, uneven terrain, and poor resolution which can bring error. So avoid creating a model of something right alongside a cliff. You can apply the terrain function on the Google toolbar. You can also create all the other structure which will obtain and produce your own shadows.

Ref: www.bellingcat.com