Google Street View Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary

Street View originated as a far-fetched proposal from Google co-founder Larry Page fifteen years ago to create a 360-degree map of the whole planet. Now fast forward to the present: People can now completely feel what it’s like to be in these areas immediately from their phone or computer thanks to over 220 billion Street View photographs from over 100 nations and territories – a new milestone. And Street View is important to our mapping efforts because it allows you to view the most up-to-date information about the globe while also building the groundwork for a more immersive, intuitive map.

While all of this is worthy of celebration, we’re not stopping there. Today, we’re introducing Street View’s newest camera, which will let users study historical photos in new ways. and a deeper look at how Google Maps will be powered by Street View in the future.

Increasing the number of locations where Street View is available

We’ve deployed Street View cameras to gather photos everywhere from the back of a camel in the Arabian desert to a snowmobile speeding through the Arctic. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that things move at breakneck speed in our world. One way we stay up with the pace is through our hardware.

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We’re piloting a new camera that will completely roll out next year to enable us to take high-quality photographs in additional areas, in addition to our Street View vehicle and trekker. This new camera combines the power, resolution, and processing capabilities of an entire Street View car into a single camera. then compresses it down to the size of a house cat to create an ultra-portable camera system. But, unlike house cats, it’s ready to be transported to distant islands, mountain summits, or a stroll through your neighbourhood town centre.

With Street View, you can go back in time🕰️

Street View is all about documenting the environment as it evolves, and it’s also a great way to look back in time. It’s now easier than ever to travel back in time right from your phone on Android and iOS worldwide, starting today. The following is how it works:

When you’re looking at Street View images of a location, tap anywhere on the image to get information about it. Then press “Examine more dates” to see historical imagery of that location, dating back to when Street View was first released in 2007. Explore each image to view a digital time capsule that documents how a location has evolved, such as how the Vessel in Hudson Yards, New York City, grew from the ground up.

Creating a more useful and engaging map🗺️

Street View is a crucial component of how we map the planet. Here’s how imagery aids us in this endeavour:

Business knowledge that is up to date and reflects your changing reality. We create useful changes to Google Maps using Street View images and AI, such as adding newly opened businesses, revealing new hours at your favourite restaurants, and updating speed limit information. In fact, AI has assisted us in making over 25 billion updates to Maps in the last three years, ensuring that the information you’re viewing is as fresh and up-to-date as possible.

Indoors and out, navigating is easier than ever. Popular features like Live View, which allows you to use your phone’s camera to overlay navigation instructions on top of the actual world so you can quickly walk to your destination, are powered by Street View images.

The immersive perspective allows you to get a better idea of what you’re getting into before you arrive. We can now combine billions of Street View and aerial photographs to create a rich, digital model of locations all around the world thanks to improvements in computer vision and AI over the last several years. You can simply glide down to the street level on Maps and even check out the inside of a company as if you were strolling around with our new immersive view, which will be available later this year.

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