Behind the maps of Microsoft Virtual Earth

Have you ever wondered how Microsoft gets all the data and images they need for Virtual Earth? Mark Brown, a Senior Product Manager in the Search Business Group  at Microsoft and also responsible for the Partners and Developers for Virtual Earth, has started a video series on his own blog. The video series is called “Behind The Maps”, and takes you on a trip showing you just how the images are shot and processed.

The first episode takes you to Graz, Austria home of the UltraCam, the high-resolution aerial image camera. You’ll meet Dr. Michael Gruber, inventor of the UltraCam and Bernhard Reitinger the creator of the UltraMap software that is used with the UltraCam camera.

In the second episode of Behind The Maps you go to Philadelphia to see the UltraCam in action. One of Microsofts partners, Keystone Aerial Surveys, shows the next step in the process where the UltraCam is used to capture imagery for Virtual Earth.