Google Street View
May 29th, 2007
As I was playing with Street View, I wondered what sort of vehicle was used to schlep the camera. To satisfy my curiosity, I browsed around until I found a shiny building and looked at the vehicle’s reflection:
Based on those images, I believe that the vehicle is a Chevrolet Express van:
I have no idea about the camera specifications, but it appears to be housed in a large box on the roof of the van.
The next steps: identify the van on the street, do something crazy during a photograph, and have the photograph end up in the tool.
(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)
Nice sleuthing! I looked around in New York a little and discovered that the pictures taken there (around Times Square, at least) were taken on September 25, 2006, so they’ve been at it for a while. I wonder how long it took to do all of it.
I was looking at pictures in NY 2 blocks from times square (where I work), and there is scaffolding and a ladder in the picture that have honestly only been there for 2 or so weeks, so I dunno.
The real thing is here:
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/photos_the_geek.html
@Aditya: That’s an interesting article, but I don’t think it shows the same vehicle. The Toyota Sienna featured there has an entirely different profile than the vehicle that’s visible in the reflection. Also, the article makes no claims that the vehicle is used for Google’s Street View.
[Photo of a Sienna]
Hey, they seem to broadcast our homelife at last.
Streetview feature is a good idea, on the other hand, it could harm privacy.
Hey, you beat Engadget in scoping this out!
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/the-google-street-view-vehicle-revealed/
Or
http://www.google.com/maps?q=San+Francisco,+CA,+USA&ie=UTF8&om=0&layer=c&cbll=37.761941,-122.421585&cbp=1,443.099259884947,0.536087792697601,2&ll=37.766678,-122.419002&spn=0.014944,0.026951&z=16