If you are a tech enthusiast or someone who just loves exploring everything new on the internet, you have probably heard of Land Lines. If you fall into the category of people who take some time to get used to new systems then you should definitely explore what we are going to talk about today in this blog. Take some time off your busy schedule and try the new chrome experiment – Land Lines, because it is so relaxing and amusing that you will stop and wonder about the geniuses in the tech world.
What exactly are Chrome Experiments?
Chrome Experiments is a collection of excellent work done by coders across the world who are consistently working toward changing the way we look at web technology. They work toward generating alluring and eccentric web-based encounters. It is like a digital showroom or an art gallery that brings together artistic projects, communicative programs, and experiments under one roof.
Chrome experiments is a Google website and the original idea behind creating the website was to test how far the limits of JavaScript, a coding language, can be pushed. It was also intended to check the performance abilities of Google Chrome, the favorite web browser for most of us.
The website is host to more than 1000 projects, each one better and different than the other. All of the submitted and displayed projects are created using open-source technology.
Although originally, Google Chrome Experiments was created solely focusing on JavaScript, looking at the positive response the experiments have received in the tech world, the platform now accepts projects created using HTML5, WebGL, Canvas, and SVG.
To understand the various projects that you might have on the website, it’s important to have some basic idea about the coding languages used to develop them:
- JavaScript: The scripting language is used to create websites and webpages that provide an excellent user interface. JavaScript is highly influenced by other languages like Scheme, Self, Java, and C
- HTML5: It is the most common type of markup language. HTML5 is what the internet is built on
- WebGL: Web Graphic Library is used to provide 2D and 3D animations or graphics to web pages
- Cascading Style Sheets: CSS is used extensively to format the entire structure of a webpage that is created using a markup language like HTML
Now that we have talked about the basics of why Land Lines is not a usual gaming experience but showcases the extent to which coding technology can be stretched, let’s dive into the details of what makes it so surreal.
Land Lines:
The name gives away some of the suspense behind the experiment. As you can guess, it has something to do with lines and the land on earth. Basically using Land Lines you can explore the entire lot of Google Earth Satellite Images based on your hand gesture. As you know when you visit the web page, Land Lines is created using more than 50,000+ images retrieved from Google Satellites.
There are two ways of enjoying the experiment
1- Draw: All you have to do is draw a random line on the blank web page that appears before you when you enter the Land Lines section in the Google Chrome Experiments webpage. Once you are done drawing the line, the back-end technology will look through the vast expanse of images in its database and provide you with the exact regional borders that match the structure of the line drawn by you. At the bottom left corner of the screen, you will also find the name of the region that matches the map.
2- Drag: This method lets you create an infinite line representing the vast connection of coastlines, highways, and rivers.
To enjoy Land Lines, you do not need a high-tech server and it can also be enjoyed on the phone’s web browser. All this is possible because Land Lines is created using machine learning, graphics card power, and optimized algorithms.
Here is a detailed list of all the technologies used to create the experiment:
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Line Detection
The program makes use of Ridge Detection by ImageJ, Structured Forests, and OpenCV for analyzing and identifying the most dominant visual lines from its database comprising 50,000 and more images. The most interesting lines are then filtered to a mere few thousand options.
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Quick and Smooth Data Lookup
This is used for the draw application where every line data that results from previous users is stored in Vantage Point Tree. The entire data structure makes it possible to find easy and quick matches in real time and even on phone browsers WebGL.
- As stated before, WebGL is used to impart 3-D and 2-D effects to the webpage. Land Lines uses Pixi.js which is an open-source library created using WebGL API. It lets the users draw or redraw 2-dimensional WebGL graphics on the web page without any lag or performance hindrances.
Last but not least, Google Cloud Storage
All of the images get directly stored on Google Cloud Storage which makes the entire result production a few seconds of activity.
Who are the main people behind the Chrome Experiment
Land Lines is the brainchild of Mr. Matt Felsen and Mr. Zach Lieberman. They have worked together with the Data Arts Team to present to you one of the few interesting technologies that can help you enhance your geographical knowledge. Also on a lazy day, you can access the webpage and learn something new.
To visit the page, all you have to do is type “Land Lines by Google ” on the search bar of Chrome browser and click on the first option that you see on the page.
Conclusion
Google Experiments webpage is filled with many other interesting projects that cannot be described in words because they are created to be experienced. If you are a creator, you can also submit your experiment by just clicking on the “Submit Experiment” at the top-right corner of the Chrome Experiments landing page. While you are on the page, you have to try The New Chrome Experiment – Land Lines because we are sure you will love it.
