Camera cars roll again
New photos, more places: Google is freshening up Street View in Germany for the first time in 13 years
A Google car for Street View is in Spain: the striking vehicles with the camera on the roof will soon be rolling through Germany again
© Imago Images
Google Street View has been available in Germany since 2010. Since then, the pictures have not been updated, which was also due to the criticism at the time. Now the group wants to shoot new photos.
More than 13 years after the introduction of Google Street View in Germany, the group wants to update the image material and expand the service. As Google announced in its company blog, cars with cameras will be on the road again in Germany from June 22nd. The current images are from 2008 and 2009. However, the world has moved on and changed, and the old images “can no longer adequately depict today’s streets and buildings,” according to Google.
When it was introduced in 2010, there was some fuss and resistance to the service in this country. Critics saw data protection and the protection of privacy threatened. As a result, Google limited the Street View offer in Germany to the largest cities and no longer updated the image material after the introduction – unlike in other countries. Anyone who did not want their house or apartment to be found on duty could apply for it to be made unrecognizable.
Google Street View has to catch up with Apple
This should continue to be possible, writes Google. However, the previous applications expire when the old image material is deleted, so they must be resubmitted. Details such as faces or license plates should be automatically made unrecognizable. Google also emphasizes that it works closely with the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. He is responsible because Google has its German headquarters in the Hanseatic city. Probably also with a view to the hustle and bustle of 2010, Google refers in the article to the benefits that the service contains from the company’s point of view. By means of a representative survey, the group also wants to have found out that the majority of people in this country now rate Street View as positive or very positive.
map service
These are the 20 most exciting places in Google Maps
In fact, competitor Apple integrated a comparable service with much more up-to-date image material into its own map service quite quietly and without any noticeable public resistance some time ago. Maybe that’s why Google sees its chance for a second attempt in Germany.
Apparently, this should also be implemented on a larger scale than the last one. Google has published a list of places and times for its cars to record data. The list can be viewed here and includes significantly more places than were previously included in the German Street View.
Source:Google