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Camera Vans To Photograph 50 Million Buildings
dritan writes "A new van unveiled at CeBIT America is equipped with 50 digital cameras and takes pictures every 15 feet -- with the goal of photographing 50 million buildings in the country. These photos could be cross-referenced with aerial photographs so that law enforcement or insurance agencies can get overhead and street level views of the same location -- just by entering an address." Time to hang out the "Hi, Mom!" signs.
Great, now I'll have to wrap my whole house!
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
is it legal?
Oh, great. I just hope when they photograph my house the lawn is mowed and the hedges are trimmed.
Still, this would be a great way to find out who has lawn gnomes, plastic flamingos, and those fat-lady-bending-over things in their gardens.
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
I'll be hanging my "All your base.." sign :)
Moderation: +1 pwnage
I just happen to be an enthusiast of the art of architecture. This would be a great way to look up and view buildings by address/location.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Combined with mapping data can we make levels for our favourite games, with pictures of buildings true to life?
ah, mod points
Think about it...It's Open Source and community based and it would look Great on Film!
I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. -- Hunter S. Thompson
It'd be interesting to see how such a survey affects sites like MapQuest... as it'd be real useful to have the building you're drving to circled on a street-level picture when you're traveling in an unknown-to-you metro area.
remove the swastika flags from the vans before they come prowling through my neighborhood?
"When viewed from this angle, all the bare ass cheeks pressed against the windows spell out SCO SUCKS".
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
We *promise* the data won't be used against normal citizens, and *definitely* will not end up in the wrong hands. Double pinky swear... and you know you can trust us, we're the one's that told you about WMD...
meh
I don't mind this at all. They may look at the address I gave them, 1060 W addison, Chicago, any time that they want...
May 25, 2004
Van Could Take Photographs While Driving
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:14 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- An odd-looking van sprouts 13 digital cameras that its builder wants to use to photograph 50 million buildings in the country while driving, taking pictures every 15 feet.
The van's drive-by snaps would be matched against GPS satellite positioning data and aerial photographs in a database. Police, insurance agents and others then could call up overhead and street-level views simply by entering an address.
The setup from Imageos Inc. was one of the security-related exhibits on display at this year's CeBIT America technology trade show, which opened here Tuesday. Other companies were showing software tools to secure wireless networks, monitor employee surfing and protect users from viruses and spyware.
The main market for Imageos' photographs would be insurance appraisals, but the Boulder, Colo., startup is also touting the pictures for ``homeland security'' applications, law enforcement and emergency services.
Imageos' Paul Jurasin said that thanks to the aerial photos, the database can show whether a house has a swimming pool or a fence in the back, details that could be of interest both to insurance companies and police.
``It gives them more information than they would get by driving up to a house, before they get there,'' Jurasin said.
So far, Imageos has photographed only Orlando, Fla. If it gets funding, it plans to photograph the 25 largest cities in the country over the next five years using more than a dozen vans.
Elsewhere on the convention floor, Hewlett-Packard Co. showed a laptop computer that is secured against non-computing attacks, namely water, dust and physical impact. The nr3600 is HP's first ``rugged'' laptop, an entry into a market dominated by Panasonic's Toughbooks.
Rugged laptops are aimed at workers who need to bring their computers to rough construction sites, deserts and combat. The nr3600, on sale now for $4,099 and up, meets military specifications for shock resistance and sealing against the elements. It is joined by a keyboard-less ruggedized ``tablet'' for $600 less.
The nr3600 has a large carrying handle, but for portability, it can't beat the OQO, an ``ultra personal computer'' about the size of a paperback book. The small LCD screen slides away to reveal a tiny keyboard intended for thumb-typing.
It has most of the functionality of a full computer: The Windows XP machine has a hard drive, built-in wireless networking and a USB port.
The OQO is designed for simpler tasks while on the move. When you sit down for serious work, you attach it to a docking station that connects to a full monitor, mouse and keyboard. The OQO thus aims to replace Palm-style organizers, laptops and desktops.
San Francisco-based OQO Inc. has been promising its gadget for two years. It says it's now finally shipping this fall for somewhat less than $2,000.
Nifty gadgets aside, the latest year's upswing in the technology business was in little evidence at show. Organizers expected 350 to 360 exhibitors, slightly fewer than last year, which was the first time CeBIT held an American show.
``It's OK. It's not buzzing with activity, but it's OK,'' said Farhad Keyvan, who was visiting from Bridgewater, N.J., where he runs a small software company.
Mark Dineen, the show's managing director, acknowledged that some large U.S. companies have ``pulled away'' from the trade show business.
However, Microsoft Corp. and enterprise software giants PeopleSoft Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. were added to the roster of exhibitors this year, and a greater number of preregistrations led organizers to expect up to 50 percent more attendees than the 8,500 that showed up last year. The show runs till Thursday.
CeBIT America is an offshoot of the world's largest technology fair, which is held Hanover, Germany, in March. That show had 6,411 exhibitors this year.
link to a copy of this article hosted by Information Week
My house is sheltered from the street by a thick strand of trees and planters. Hopefully the federales will use this information to keep out of my impatiens when they storm my house.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
My place isn't likely to be visible to these guys - I'm in a condo, and I'm on the side of the building that doesn't face the street, just the next buildings. MapQuest used to have aerial photos, so I've seen pictures of my roof, and probably a picture of my car's roof, but I don't know if any of the free mapping problems still offer that.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Verizon will send its spokesman to accompany them. Every time a picture is taken, that guy will say "Can you hear me now?"
Then, one picture will include his corpse on the front lawn, and James Earl Jones will get his job back.
I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
Art precedes technology: The Camera Van
And yet, if I take pictures anywhere near a Federal building, subway tunnel or bridge, even from a public sidewalk, the goons will want to catalogue me as a potential threat.
[
Here's a no reg required copy of the AP article.
I
This is interesting, I really don't see how this could be bad, aside from having an ugly house or yard. Actually Europe (more specifically france) has things like this, in their internet yellow pages, there is a picture of every single address. Works great when you are looking for hotels (which is how I found) and want to know what the area looks like.
I can really only see how this can help things, like historical data...how an area looked in a hundred years or something, or with research into an area.
Madrid and Bercelona are alaready online, and most buildings have multiple views.
check it out here. However the site seems to be running very slow at the moment.
For some sample addresses, you can use Calle Serrano 75, or Francisco Silvela 20
-- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
Ok, here's my plan... I'll hang a painting I made on the house with a disclaimer that it's not to be reproduced...
then, after they take the picture, I'll demand access to the content database since I know they have my IP in there...
if they refuse, I'll lobby Congess to pass a law that has the DOJ go after them for me !
Oh yeah, I almost forgot (this is
Step 4: Profit !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
"Can I compile my own database?"
"No, you may not compile your own database."
"Can I photograph just a few buildings here in there?"
"No, you could be a terrorist."
"Can I *look* at the buildings?"
"NO LOOKING!"
"But.."
"NO LOOKING!!!"
Finding God in a Dog
A year or so ago, Cook County officials sent a van around photographing every house and residential street in the county. They planned to offer the pictures on the internet, but I'm not sure how successful they were.
And yes, it made the news and raised a lot of controversy, but in the end, Cook County told its critics they could shove it, and went ahead and did it anyway.
I guess its just another case of "Can't fight City Hall"....
Now, if a private citizen had attempted to do the same, you can bet they would have been arrested. And if someone tried to do it now, they'd get thrown in jail as a suspected terrorist.
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
How do they maintain this image collection so that it stays up to date? If a single building changes (is modified, demolished, etc.) will they go back and photograph it? Or will they just do huge city sweeps every year or so? I would think they'd be doing the latter. It'd be like a photographic street directory.
OLPC Australia
Wake up call, people. Your house, unless it's behind a fence, is already accessible visually to the public. I can walk out my door right now, with my camera, and snap pictures of every house on my street.
What'll that get me? Not much, except a bunch of pictures of houses on my street.
If this helps the 911 guys find my house better in case of an emergency, good for them. If it never happens, they've got a picture of a blue house with tan trim.
Someone please enlighten me as to how this could possibly be bad.
These photos could be cross-referenced with aerial photographs so that law enforcement or insurance agencies can get overhead and street level views of the same location -- just by entering an address."
I always wondered how the operators did that in the Matrix.
They may need more vans.
Oh, sure. Give them a handwriting sample while you're at it.
You know what?
In Allegheny County, PA, you can go to the county assessment website (http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Sea rch.asp)
and search on street name, address, OWNER, etc. In the information for most houses are also the pictures of said house. So this is nothing really new, at least around here.
sig--we don't need no goddamn sig
If this helps the 911 guys find my house better in case of an emergency, good for them. If it never happens, they've got a picture of a blue house with tan trim.
:)
Well, they'll have a convincing case for governmental intervention in the next home decorating decision you make
The french already did this - check out pages jaunes (pages jaunes is french for Yellow Pages). You can actually look up an address and see a photo of it.
You're lost on a street. Take a photo with your camera phone and send it to the service. Characteristic image features are used to recognize the buildings, which are cross-referenced with addresses and GPS coordinates in the database. The service tells you where you are and how to get where you're going.
The recognition technology for this application is already in development.
Of course, if your phone is a GPS phone, you might not need this.
--Tom
MAN SHOOTS ROVER!
from Bugs Bunny:
Just get a big canvas outside your house, paint a tunnel, and watch what happens!
<insert witty linux comment here>
That's Road Runner.
;)
And you don't want a coyote to drive a truck through your front door.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Pennsylvania's Deptartment of Transportation has been building a video log of the major state routes. It's a similar concept, but their implementation is focused on road maintenance and identification rather than address mapping. http://164.156.5.83/ividlog/video_locate.asp
I was thinking I'd just hang a lifesized painting of someone else's house in front of my house . . .
I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly, alert.
I can walk out my door right now, with my camera, and snap pictures of every house on my street.
u it.html). That might also get you arrested (I, personally, have been arrested for taking pictures of an industrial plant from a public sidewalk).
What'll that get me? Not much, except a bunch of pictures of houses on my street.
Umm... That is highly likely to get you at least a conversation with cops.
That might also get you sued (see e.g. http://www.californiacoastline.org/streisand/laws
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
It would not be hard to generate VR walkthroughs using the photographs described in the article. There has been sw for a long time that can interpolate a VR walkthrough from a flat photograph (an object panorama is when you move around a VR object, ala a model of a car, rather than having the panorama move around you, ala being in a room; a walkthrough combines both).
For instance there was an astonishing product called Canoma, which existed only for Macintosh and was bought by Adobe; Canoma could generate incredible object models given nothing but an outline of a building's profile.
There are others now that are even better but I don't know the names, they're primarily used for biomedical modeling. Some can generate object models from slices (it can be important in research to generate a 3D model of, say, features of a mouse brain from slices of the brain. In this case you're interpolating a 3D model from various 1D slices of an object). Some generate wire basket models from flat photographs.
Anyway, it would not be difficult to generate neighborhood walkthroughs/flyovers using photographs from street and aerial. More interesting, it probably woulnd't be hard to generate them dynamically as requested page views. If somebody takes all the photographs first.
Back in the mumblety-70s there was a short story in one of the science fiction pulps called "Stolzfus's Revenge", about an Amish farmer who got annoyed at Russians and English-speakers doing satellite photographs of his farm, so he started plowing messages to them into his field. He started off with simple lines, but eventually worked his way up to fancier looking fonts. Air traffic was getting diverted to not fly over the fields, and eventually a Yankee spy satellite photographed a farm in the Soviet Union which had "Same To You, Buddy" plowed on it.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
on how many pictures will have a dinosaur?
Well, for starters, what happens when your house isn't blue anymore with tan trim...and the fire truck drives past your house? Given how much of a pain in the ass it is to do the photos, do they honestly intend to update the DB constantly?
Out in western MA, they had a very easy solution to all this. The town gave out bright plastic signs with a picture of a fire truck and the street number of the house...and a little metal stake to hang it from. Instructions on where to place it relative to -your- driveway were given. This was done because many people don't have mailboxes(they have PO boxes in town), or they were confusingly located(ie across the street, at the end of a private driveway, etc).
Works perfectly. This is just some urban idiot who doesn't understand that the problem's already been solved- just not everyone has chosen to implement it.
Please help metamoderate.
Perhaps... Or maybe it would be a good time to start.
I do the same thing, except the first time a cop rolls by I try to flag him down and explain what I'm doing. Most of them are fairly understanding; I've even had one get out and wave off (minimal) traffic so I could get a good angle on a photo. You'd be surprised how well talking to cops works, especially bored night beat cops. And if you've got one cop car hanging out, other cops will generally leave you alone, presuming brother cop knows what's going on.
I see no concern with the databasing; so anyone can cross-index a house adress with its frontal appearance - nothing they couldn't do by driving up in front of it.
---
Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
(I read with sigs off.)
coat your house in mirrors
I read a claim that when it comes to navigation, men's minds are more spacially oriented while women's minds are more landmark oriented. Thus, maps work better for men than for women.
Women can make due with written directions, but what if there was a way to give directions by providing a photograph of every intersection from the 1st person, with the turns marked by arrows? Instead of memorizing street names or distances, you could just say "I'll turn when I see this, I'll turn when I see that..." You could be completely illiterate and still navigate. To make such a system possible, you'd have to photograph every intersection from every approach, at day and night, every season (which is frequent enough to account for new construction in most areas). It would be very labor intensive, but it would provide a very valuable service. Assuming illiterate, map-incompetent people have enough money to pay for it.
there are 2.27+ million miles of paved roads in the US, not to mention all the unpaved ones...
First off, even at 30 miles per hour 24 hours a day, it'd take about 8 1/2 years to take the photos.
Second, taking 50 pictures every fifteen feet comes to ~17 thousand pictures per mile. Even at a measly 1 megapixel each, that's 17gigs per mile. Multiply that by a couple million miles and I think you may have just a little storage and database problem....
I wonder if it will get to 2 Columbus Circle before this beautiful building gets an awful facelift.
...building codes would often prevent building a subterrainian home...
Really? I don't know of any codes that prevent a basement in a house (unless it's a flood area). So, what you do is build a regular house, make the basement your primary living quarters, and have the upstairs completely empty (i.e., no appliances, limited fixtures, just enough to get an occupancy permit), then use the main floor for the purposes you'd normally use your basement for (i.e., storage, junk, etc).
An environmental group already built a database of houses along the California coastline to prove that homeowners were building without permits or blocking public access to beaches, a mjor political issue. It annoyed Barbara Streisand so much that she sued, but lost.
signature pending slashdot approval
Unneccessary. I could send you photos (har har har) of houses that people were going to build.. and then they ran out of money after just putting in a full basement (required in my area.. Maine.. brr that's cold). They just slap a half tall roof on the property, put in a nice entry way, and call it a day.
There is no reason that it couldn't be hidden with some shrubbery, or even sunked a few feet deeper and a submarine style entrance attached.
In fact, the basis of law in not equality (as people like myself posit it should be), but in fact the basis of law is priviledge. And if you look at the roots of the word, privi-ledge, you get private-law. That is to say, those laws which are to be enforced must always be enforced unequally. If every law were enforced on every person, then we would find ourselves caught in the "That which is not prohibited is mandated, that which is not mandated is prohibited" situation (which presumably precludes either free-choice or free-dom).
So it's legal, yeah, as long as you're not in the wrong place at the wrong time, or have long hair, or holding a placard, or have the "wrong" skin color, or just plain weird out the cops.
Is it legal? Yeah, totally legal. Just don't get caught.
"A witty saying proves nothing." ~Voltaire
"d'Oh!" ~Homer