Internet Giant Google is launching a new service which will allow internet users to virtually stroll around towns and cities. The service which has been available in the US for over two year is now set to launch in the UK tomorrow. Cities in France, Italy, Spain, Austria, New Zealand and Japan have already been added to the service and the UK is the latest country to benefit.
Google Street View Mapping in Paris
So how does it work? Cars painted with the Google logo, mounted with giant 360 degree video cameras on 4 foot masts, have been driving around UK streets taking millions of 3d images. The images are subsequently stitched together to create a 360 degree street view which takes the form of a virtual reality video. The service will allow anyone in the world to stroll down a 3D representation of a street from the comfort of their own home.
Initially major cities will be the first to benefit from the service – including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. More cities will be added over time and it is rumoured that Google plans to eventually map every road.
But the service has lead to great controversy, does Google street view infringe on our rights to privacy and does the service offer criminals the ability to “case out” potential burglary targets from the comfort of their own homes?
In America Google Street View has been seen its fair share of headlines. Controversial claims of infringement of privacy have been backed up by the removal of some 3D imagery. One such image, which was removed by Google, showed a woman exposing her underwear while getting out of a car and another showed a man entering a “sex shop”. It’s important to point out that the images are not live but are a snap shot of the moment in time the Google 3D Camera passed down the street. Google plans to update the images every one to two years.
A Google spokeswoman said: “Google works hard to make sure that our products respect both users’ expectations of privacy, and local privacy laws, in each country in which they are launched. Google Maps Street View is no exception.”
The service will be integrated into Google Earth and Google Maps. If the service is available in a specific area an icon of a small man will change from grey to yellow, the icon can be found on the “zoom slide” in the map interface. If the icon is then dragged onto the map the street view area will be highlighted and a street can then be selected and viewed in 3D.
