What is a street view?!
Street view technology, featured by Google maps, is the virtual representation of the surroundings on Google maps. It provides you with panoramic views and images of the surroundings! It basically gives the user a chance to virtually discover the world! That’s why we consider it an evolution!
How do they obtain these photos, and when did it start?
Specially-fitted cars drive through cities and urban area to take these photos, these panoramic 360 degree shoots. They capture moments of people having their normal daily routine, and to protect people’s privacy, Google has implemented a technology that blurs people's faces off the camera. It was launched in 2007 in 5 main cities in the United States, and have been growing ever since. It nowadays covers most of the land in the United States, along with other cities in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. The Google Street view is available as a web application and as a mobile application for ios and Android.
More about it and what it does...
Almost everyone nowadays use Google maps in running their errands, even if it’s a walking distance destination, one would open Google Maps to know the directions, Google Street View decided to change how a person uses the maps, so instead of following some lines and an arrow, you would virtually see the place around you with panoramic images and beautiful landscapes,and follow the guide on the app till you reach your destination.
In some areas, the app provides a gallery of places to see how this place has changed over time, parking lots have become parks, crossways have had more greenery in the areas surrounding them and so on. Based on a research made by Business Insider there are 50 public spaces transformations captured by Google Street View.
Here are some of them…
Aalsmeerplein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Praça Mauá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Muscat St., Singapore.
Let’s sum it up!
Google maps has launched a new feature a few years back, Google Street View, it does the same function of the maps but with real panoramic 360 photos, so one can follow the guide based on true images. This feature has started out in the United States Of America and has been growing wider ever since. It allows people to virtually discover the world from where they are!
References:
https://www.google.com/streetview/explore/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverage_of_Google_Street_View#2007
