Google’s vast catalog of services also covers the mapping and navigation segments. Every so often, services like Google Maps, Waze, and Earth receive new features to make them more useful or even entertaining. Now, the company has announced that Google Maps‘ Street View is reaching more countries. Additionally, Google Earth will let you “travel back in time.”
Google Maps’ Street View now supports 80 countries; getting AI-powered sharper images
Street View is a Google Maps‘ feature that provides “virtual tours” of streets in multiple locations around the world. On supported locations, Street View allows you to virtually “walk” between streets in a multi-directional navigation system. To develop the feature, Google is sending its own cars equipped with advanced cameras to take 360° images of the location.
Now, the company has revealed that Google Maps’ Street View experience is now available in more countries. Google is adding new imagery to existing countries, as well as bringing Street View tours to others for the first time. The feature is currently live in 80 countries, with virtual tours of such iconic landmarks as the Great Barrier Reef and the International Space Station. Street View currently has an impressive gallery of more than 280 billion images.
Google also revealed that it’s using AI technology and new cameras in its cars to offer sharper imagery during Street View explorations. So, the experience should be more immersive than ever, especially on AR/VR headsets. The company began rolling out the improvements to Street View on September 25, so you might want to check it out.
Google Earth will get “time travel”
Google Earth is also getting some love from the company. The service will allow users to take “time travels” that allow them to see firsthand the changes the planet has experienced over the decades. To do so, Google will use “satellite and aerial imagery” collected over the past 80 years. In some locations, the Mountain View giant claims that you will be able to go back in time to the 1930s. Lastly, Google Earth will soon support the creation of custom maps by researchers and companies.