Tag Archives: Google Street View

Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would

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Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would

While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps' web app had been further encouraged by word that it'd be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated "in two weeks" and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you'll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin' virtual tourists.

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Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Street View gets its first underwater panoramic images, ready for desk-based scuba expeditions (video)

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Google Street View gets its first underwater panoramic images, ready for desk-based scuba expeditions

After working on its sea legs for some time, Google Street View is ready to take users on virtual scuba expeditions through six living coral reefs with the first underwater panoramic images to hit the service. In partnership with The Catlin Seaview Survey, Mountain View created the on-rails snorkeling experiences using undersea pictures from Heron, Lady Elliot and Wilson Islands at the Great Barrier Reef, Molokini Crater and Hanauma Bay in Hawaii and the Apo Islands in the Philippines. Combined with views from Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, the new underwater tours might make for a respectable, desk-based vacation. Interested in paddling through the briny depths? Head past the break for a short preview or hit the source links below to dive right in.

Continue reading Google Street View gets its first underwater panoramic images, ready for desk-based scuba expeditions (video)

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Google Street View gets its first underwater panoramic images, ready for desk-based scuba expeditions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 01:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Lat-Long Blog, Google Street View  | Email this | Comments

Google patent delivers close-up photos when your phone can’t, Blade Runners would approve

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Google patent delivers closeup photos when your phone can't, Blade Runners would approve

It's been 30 years since we saw Deckard track down replicants by having a machine "enhance" pictures, and yet we're still stuck with distant-looking photos when we want more detail than our smartphone cameras can manage. While we'd argue that a few phones already live in that Blade Runner future, Google has just obtained a patent that could give the rest of us a helping hand. If the zoom isn't up to snuff, the proposed software could gauge a mobile device's position and orientation to offer a closer, already-taken photo from a server as a substitute, whether it's a Street View shot or a more traditional image. The geocoded system could even cue photos based on the time of day and year to provide that extra dash of authenticity. We already get a trace of the concept through photo overlays within Street View itself, although there's no indication as to whether or not Google will link our camera apps directly to a cloud of substitute photos -- suffice it to say that the industry has changed a lot since Google was using the iPhone 3G to illustrate its photography concepts.

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Google patent delivers close-up photos when your phone can't, Blade Runners would approve originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we're willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn't just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company's Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth -- although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.

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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

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Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

Third-party navigation apps still tend to fall apart when the keys are out of the ignition -- try to cut back on car use and you're often kicked over to another app with its own set of rules. Both Garmin's StreetPilot Onboard app and its Navigon equivalent are getting a much more holistic experience through respective upgrades due this fall. Android and iOS users alike can soon buy an Urban Guidance pack that factors buses, subways and other forms of public transportation into their on-foot routes. The playing field is leveling off for drivers willing to stretch their legs, too: iPhone owners with Navigon's app get the same last-mile walking directions and parking finder as their Android counterparts. StreetPilot iPhone app users are left out of this last addition, but they'll see compensation in the form of an optional Panorama View 3D mode and the Google Street View they're about to lose from Maps in iOS 6. The updated titles will still cost $30 for Navigon-only regional packs, $50 for editions with US-wide maps and $60 for all of North America, although you'll need to spend $5 more ($3 during the first two weeks) for Urban Guidance and $10 for the Panorama View 3D pack.

Continue reading Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

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Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGarmin StreetPilot Onboard (iOS), Navigon (Android), (iOS)  | Email this | Comments

Google Street View expands to cover swaths of Brazil and Mexican ruins, won’t substitute for a vacation

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Google Street View expands to cover wide swaths of Brazil and Mexican ruins, won't substitute for a vacation

For a country that dominates the Latin American landscape, Brazil hasn't had much of a presence in Google Street View outside of major cities like Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. A fresh update to Street View coverage has just gone live that fleshes out the the more far-flung corners of the map. It's now possible to see what it's like on the ground in much of the southern tip of the country as well as the northern coastline. Further north, Mexicans get their own treat: Google is now providing the panoramic views for ancient ruins such as Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, just in case you'd rather not try to blend in with all the other tourists. The widened reach is undoubtedly no match for booking a flight and visiting in person, but it will save you the trouble of brushing up on your Portugese or ancient Mayan.

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Google Street View expands to cover swaths of Brazil and Mexican ruins, won't substitute for a vacation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Lat Long Blog  | Email this | Comments

Google Street View cams peek inside Queen Mary’s staterooms

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DNP Google Street View cams peak inside Queen Mary's staterooms

Google didn't have to head far from its Mountain View HQ to capture the 1930s golden age of British shipbuilding for Street View. The RMS Queen Mary, which personifies that era, is located conveniently down the coast from the California-based search giant at Long Beach. While it hasn't budged since the '60s, the former liner is a popular tourist attraction and has a hotel, museum and restaurants. Its Facebook page shows Google staff collecting images, and has promised that the historic site will appear on Street View "in the coming months." Until then, check the source below to see the camera-toting team prowling its oak-lined corridors.

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Google Street View cams peek inside Queen Mary's staterooms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Queen Mary (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Google takes one giant leap: now lets you Street View the Kennedy Space Center

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Google takes one giant leap: now lets you Street View the Kennedy Space Center

Today's a stupendous day for lovers of the one and only National Aeronautics Space Administration -- nearly half as great as when we took you inside Kennedy Space Center shortly after it had opened its fascinating doors to the public. At any rate, Google announced earlier that its captivating (and sometimes troubling) Street View technology had made its way into NASA's KSC, allowing people to check out what the compound is all about and what sort of sensational machinery lies inside. With Mountain View's doings, you can now find your way around different spots within the Space Center, including the Launch Firing Room, Vehicle Assembly Building and, as seen above, the Space Shuttle Launch Pad. There's a video past the break if you're interested in a quick preview, otherwise you can give it a go yourself by clicking the more coverage link below.

Continue reading Google takes one giant leap: now lets you Street View the Kennedy Space Center

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Google takes one giant leap: now lets you Street View the Kennedy Space Center originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment

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Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment

Nostalgia is a powerful force. It's driven some to search Google through a Bulletin Board System-like interface or, in the case of programmer Peter Nitsch, it's compelled him to graft ASCII art onto the physical world. Simply plug an address into his project's website and you'll be able to pan through an ASCII facsimile of a real-world Street View vista. Leveraging WebGL and Javascript, the system samples the search giant's images and generates text art using the appropriate characters and hues. Nitsch's fondness for retro visualizations don't end there, however, he also created a system that superimposes a gaggle of characters in the wake of a physical paintbrush using a Kinect and a projector. Built as a plugin for the openFrameworks toolkit, the code relies on a GPU for the real-time image conversion and is freely available for tinkering. Hit the source link below to see the modified Street View in action or head past the break for a video of the ASCII painting. For some of the technical nitty-gritty, tap the more coverage link.

Continue reading Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment

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Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video)

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Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks
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Google has already taken us on a trip to the frigid shores of Antarctica before. Now the search giant is back with even more panoramic images, this time from deeper inside the frozen continent. With help from the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust (not to mention a light-weight tripod and a fisheye lens), Street View can now bring to you the wonders of our most southern land mass. This isn't a short stroll in the footsteps of penguins either -- the ceremonial South Pole and Shackleton's Hut are among the numerous landmarks that get exposed to Google's image sensors. Enjoy the quick tour above and the video after the break.

Continue reading Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video)

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Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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