Google celebrates the 15th anniversary of Street View
Google has announced that its Street View Maps feature will receive two upgrades to celebrate the service's 15th anniversary.
- Street View started fifteen years ago as a far-fetched idea from Larry Page to build a 360-degree map of the entire world. There are now more than 220 billion Street View images from more than 100 countries and territories.
- The first upgrade is a new feature coming to iOS and Android apps that displays historical Street View photos across your phone. The second upgrade is a new, more portable camera that the company hopes will make it easier to take Street View photos in the future.
- Since 2014, it has been possible to use Street View to see how the place has changed over the years with the computer version of Google Maps.
But now iOS and Android apps have the same capability. You can access it by tapping anywhere on the screen while in Street View and then selecting See more dates to access the historical photos of the site.
The feature displays images dating back to the time of the launch of Street View in 2007 in locations where it is available.
The new, more portable 360-degree camera is Google's second announcement to coincide with its 15th annual Street View.
The search giant is currently using custom cars and large backpacks with cameras to photograph the world. But the new camera reduces all of these functions to a device that weighs just under 6.8kg.
The camera is designed to make it easier for Google to take Street View photos around the world, allowing it to perform more frequent updates.
For example, instead of paying to move cars equipped with dedicated cameras, the company can retrofit its new camera into an existing car.
Google brings historical Street View photos to your phone
Given the Street View data collected by attaching existing massive cameras to everything from snowmobiles to Venice gondolas, it's easy to imagine a plethora of new vehicles that Google should be able to attach the new camera to.
The seven camera sensors in each camera capture 140MP panoramic views, just as before. Although there are no lidar sensors built in by default, the camera is designed to be customizable so that it can be added when needed.
Street View is a useful feature. But for Google, having cameras roaming the streets is also a useful way to improve its map data.
Street View images are used to add newly opened businesses to Google Maps, improve information about opening hours, and provide information about road speed limits.