I recently came across a “country am i in” tool that uses the device’s GPS location to identify and display the country the user is currently in. This got me wondering how to visualize such geographic data in a more dynamic and interactive way using three.js.
For instance, when the user opens the tool, I imagine it could display a 3D globe, and once the location data is fetched via the GPS, the user’s location could be highlighted on this globe. The user’s country could be marked with a 3D flag or some sort of visual cue like a pulsating sphere to draw attention to it. I’m curious to know if anyone in the three.js community has experience with something similar.
Specifically, how would I go about plotting the user’s GPS coordinates on a 3D globe in three.js? Is there a standard approach to converting latitude and longitude into 3D coordinates that would fit on a globe rendered by three.js? Would I need to manually map these values, or are there existing libraries or tools that integrate with three.js to simplify this process?
Additionally, I’d like to explore animating the interaction. For example, once the user’s location is identified, the camera could smoothly zoom in on the relevant part of the globe. What would be the best way to handle such an animation in three.js? Would this require manual camera manipulation, or is there a built-in method for these types of zoom and pan effects?
Finally, are there any considerations I should be aware of when working with GPS data in this context? Since GPS data can sometimes be slightly inaccurate, I’m curious about how to ensure the visualization still feels smooth and intuitive for users. Should I account for potential inaccuracies when marking the location on the globe, or will the precision of the GPS data generally be good enough for this kind of application?
I’d appreciate any suggestions or resources from the community on how to bring such a visualization to life in three.js!