What is Google Street View? Which Cities Are Getting It First?
Google Street View is finally making its way to India. In collaboration with local traffic authorities, Google Maps will now show speed limits, road closures and disruptions information, and better-optimized traffic lights. Let’s explore more about this feature.
What is Google Street View?
Google Street View is an immersive 360-degree view of a location captured by data collectors moving around city streets with special cameras mounted on vehicles or backpacks. The images are then stitched together to form a 360-degree view that users can swipe through for a more detailed look at the location. It is viewable on Android and iOS via the app or as a web view.
Why It was not enabled in India?
The Bangalore City Policy prohibited vehicles from capturing images for Google Street View in 2011. Though it was unclear why the policy stopped data collection, Google did not continue with the product in India, even though local companies such as Wonobo and MapMyIndia created their versions of immersive visual maps of some Indian cities.
How has Street View now been launched in India?
According to the National Geospatial Policy 2021, Indian companies can collect map data and licence it to others. Following this, Google has partnered with Tech Mahindra and Mumbai-based Genesys International to initially enable Street View in 10 Indian cities. This is the first time Google has collaborated with a partner to enable this feature. These partners will collect and own the data in India.
Which Cities Will Get It?
The new Street View feature is now available on Google Maps, but only in Bangalore as a test. The feature will then be available in Hyderabad and, later, Kolkata. Following that, Street View will be expanded to more cities in India, including Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar, and Amritsar.
How will Street View help users?
While Google Maps allows users to plot a route and view a satellite view of it, this does not always provide a clear picture of the road conditions. Users will be able to use Street View to see exactly how a new destination looks and even explore local businesses before going there.
Are there any limitations on Street View in India?
Street View is not permitted in India for restricted areas such as government properties, defence establishments, and military areas. This means that in a city like Delhi, the cantonment area will be off-limits to Street View.
Along with India, Google has had issues with the local authorities in countries like Austria, Australia and Germany, though it has come back in most of these locations. Liked this post? Don’t forget to check out our other short stories in our Quick Read section.