GOOGLE IMAGES THE IRAQ NATIONAL MUSEUM

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002827 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINT KPAO SCUL TINT PGOV ECPS IZ SUBJECT: GOOGLE IMAGES THE IRAQ NATIONAL MUSEUM ¶1. (U) Summary: In support of Section IV of the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA),post supports programs to preserve Iraq's cultural heritage. To augment these efforts and harness the interest and expertise of the American private sector, we have partnered with several leaders from the IT industry in the U.S. As follow-up to the April visit of several leading IT CEOs, three Google engineers traveled to Baghdad October 7-14 to image the Iraq National Museum using several new Google technologies. The images they took will allow browsers, using new technology, a chance to "visit" the Iraq National Museum and to learn more about Iraq's heritage. End Summary. Google To The Rescue! ¶2. (U) Building on techniques used for Google Maps and Google Street View, Google engineers Dan Ratner, Alex Starns and Matt Williams took almost 15,000 pictures during three visits to the Iraq National Museum to catalog all the exhibits currently on display. After processing, browsers worldwide will be able to "walk" through the museum and take a close look at all of the artifacts in the museum. While in Baghdad, the engineers met with several groups of Iraqis interested in learning new ways to further develop Iraq's IT industry. The Street View team members also met with Embassy, MNF-I and Iraqi counterparts to learn more about Iraq and discuss ways to develop Iraq's IT industry with their interlocutors. Street View Goes Indoors ¶3. (SBU) Over three visits to the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad on October 8, 11 and 13, the Google team imaged all the exhibits currently on display. Dan Ratner, a senior engineer and designer of the Street View technology, along with operations engineers Alex Starns and Matt Williams, spent eight days in Iraq to accomplish their goal of bringing Street View technology inside a museum for the first time ever. Google originally planned to image a museum or another building as a test case before coming to Iraq but were not able to do so; the Iraq National Museum was the first imaged museum and marked the first time Google used the adapted Street View technology inside a building. Google Tools in Iraq ¶4. (SBU) Street View, a Google technology developed two years ago, enables browsers to "walk" along streets by sending cars with high resolution cameras on streets around the world. Over 99 percent of U.S. streets have been driven and photographed and there are roughly 500 Street View cars now on the road in various countries. Taking it a step further in Iraq, the Google team set out to map and image inside a building. To capture data normally done by a car-mounted camera with a hard drive in the trunk, Mr. Ratner built a trolley to gather image and location information inside buildings and the Iraq National Museum was the first location the team tested this new technology. The data the trolley collected should be able to make precise indoor maps to complement photos that the team took with high resolution still cameras and with specially developed, bracketed exposure panorama cameras. Another complimentary technology that will allow mapping and imaging outdoors on paths, parks and even mountain bike trails where a car can not drive, Ratner built a tricycle that was unveiled on the Today Show October ¶16. (NOTE: The tricycle was not used in Baghdad. END NOTE.) Stuff View ¶5. (U) Mr. Starns brought another new Google technology, Stuff View, with him to image individual artifacts at the museum. Using a simple cloth box, lights, cameras and a rotating disc, Starns placed small objects (up to the size of a coke can) on the disc and took Qsmall objects (up to the size of a coke can) on the disc and took 108 pictures of each object as he rotated it slowly. Working closely with the museum staff, he Stuff Viewed 20 artifacts and in a matter of weeks internet browsers will be able to view these artifacts in great detail from all angles. Googlers Meet Iraq's Future Sergey Brin? ¶7. (U) On October 10 the Google team met with 10 young computer scientists and IT professionals to talk about the Street View project, explain Google and brainstorm on how to improve Iraq's IT industry. The young tech professionals explained the challenges they face working with limited connectivity and oppressive bureaucracy. The Google team explained that there were many more tools available at no cost that might help them grow or start their businesses. Seeing the potential in Iraq and in the young Iraqis, one Google engineer told emboff half-seriously that he wanted to give each Iraqi seed money on the spot to see what kind of start-up company they could develop. Briefings, Brainstorming Sessions ¶8. (U) The Google team received a military briefing on the security situation in Iraq and met the Economic Counselor to discuss the potential of the Iraqi economy and possibilities for a high-tech Iraq. Representatives from International Exchanges and Research Board (IREX),an NGO active in Iraq, explained their efforts to educate Iraqis about the tools the internet and computers have to offer. They highlighted how Google Earth had helped them to map centers for disabled Iraqis so they could either visit the centers or contact them easily to request services. The Google team directed the IREX team to the Connect Alabama project as a model for how technology and mapping could be used effectively to make government services more accessible using tools readily available on the internet. ¶9. (U) Comment: The mere fact the Google engineers traveled to Iraq was a success for the Support Network for a Digital Iraq (SNDI) initiative, a concept developed after the April visit to Baghdad that hopes to provide an online forum to encourage U.S. companies to engage and help develop Iraq (septel). That the Google team brought breakthrough technology with them and imaged the Iraq National Museum as their first indoor Street View experiment is even greater. There was no press coverage of the Google visit because the technology they used has not yet been released. When this happens, their visit will serve as a good example of how SNDI-ITTF efforts can advance USG goals as laid out in the SFA. End Comment. FORD