Google to Map San Francisco in 3D

mtz206 writes "SiliconValleyWatcher reports that "Google plans to use trucks equipped with lasers and digital photographic equipment to create a realistic 3D online version of San Francisco, and eventually other major US cities. The move would trump Amazon's A9 service, which offers two-dimensional photos of buildings on US city streets.""

Comments

Re:Well

[scottme]

Give them a break. They have to start somewhere after all.

A strange sight

[LaundroMat]

Let's just hope they'll warn the authorities and tell them of their good intentions, because I can imagine not everyone will consider the driving around in trucks 'equipped with lasers and photographic equipment' as a non-threatening activity.

Re:A strange sight

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

Alternately, if you want to build a terror-truck equiped with lasers and such, just paint a colorful "Google" logo on the side and you'll be able to drive wherever you want.

Why?

[onion2k]

What's the point? Ok, it'll be pretty to look at, but highly accurate maps are actually less useful in pretty much all applications than simplified thematic representations.

Re:Why?

[AtlanticGiraffe]

Which makes business sense because it makes us interested in Google.

When they score geek points, geeks want to work for them. That way, they get the best people for the lowest price.

Geeks are also the have a major influence on other people's online behaviour. Did your mother try out all the other search engines before deciding that google was the best?

Re:Why?

[blekkazzen]

For an example, most department stores have those little schematic of their stores that show where each area is in the store. Using that you can tell someone "Meet me in the sporting good section" and they can look at the map and figure out where the sporting good section is and meet you there. Problem is that you can't be anymore specific and instantly expect the person to know where you're talking about unless they've been there. Now on the other hand if you had a detailed 3D map of the store you could say meet me where the basketballs are and someone could look and see exactly where the basketballs are in relation to everything else and meet you there. Now depending on how detailed Google's 3D maps will be you could do the same exact thing. You could point out a specific landmark and the person could go to Google's map page and see exactly what you're talking about and where it's in relation to everything else and know exactly where to go. I don't know about you but I hate going somewhere and knowing that I'm in the right general area but having to guess if I'm in the right specific spot.

Re:Why?

[Analogy Man]

The extra detail can be very useful. Consider this use case: Friday (tomorrow) I am driving from Michigan to Sheboygan Wisconsin, picking up my sister at the Airport in Milwaukee. There is a park on Lake Michigan a few minutes away from the airport I will use to entertain my kids in the event that I get through Chicago ruch hour traffic with time to spare.

So with respect to the park, from the satellite image I was able to determine there is a beach, it is not apparent that access is controlled (i.e. state or county pass required at some sort of gate house), I can see which entrance serves the beach and picnic area and which is for the golf course, I have a visual idea of the lay of the land so I can drive right in like I have been there before.

Sometimes you just have to marvel at how damn useful this stuff can be.

Warning...

[HaydnH]

... to anyone living in San Francisco: Make sure your curtains are drawn while doing things you shouldn't be doing.

"Hey mom, check out this 3D Google version of our home, hey what are you and dad up to in your bedroom??? Ewwww!"

Imagine..

[myspys]

.. that data being used in games like GTA.

You could visit every city they have mapped.

Yummy!

Re:Imagine..

[markild]

Could get troublesome though...

"I rememeber i robbed this bank once.. Wait, was that real life or GTA."

Re:Imagine..

[Ligur]

I had a similar experience during my first-time visit to Paris, I later realized it must have been due to having played Midtown Madness 3 where one of the locales is the city of Paris, not very accurately modeled mind you, though the roads along the Seine were fairly accurately depicted in the game.
Also, I found myself recognizing my surroundings in Dublin, Ireland. as soon as I saw the "spike" I realized where from: Remember that slashdot article from about a year ago where you could control a set of skylights over Dublin using a 3D-model of the area where the lights were set up?
Well, my point being: I can't recall ever recognizing my surroundings from 2D-maps. It seems 3D representations are easier to learn and remember. And so, there *is* a point to what google is doing.

Re:Well

[xor.pt]

They did, they started the map in the US, ok. Then the satellite pictures, where(?), in the US, ok i mean they already had the map there, so why not(?). And now they start the 3d maps, of course in the US. My point is, when will they stop implementing new features and start expanding the ones they have to the rest of the world?

Re:What is the practical application for this?

[metlin]

Yes, you are.

It makes navigation a lot easier, settings of a city a lot familiar and an advancement in technology.

I mean, you wouldn't expect us to still be playing 2d games, do you? We perceive things in 3d and can relate a lot more easily to real-world landmarks than abstract notions - a realistic 3d map of a city would mean that it is more life-like.

At the very least, it is cool technology and it is progress.

One Upmanship

[CastrTroy]

Seems like there's a lot of one upmanship going on in the mapping business. Everybody seems to be trying to outgimmick everyone else. My favourite is still Mapquest. Although they could learn a little about UI from Google, I find that MapQuest's maps provide much more information as far as street names, especially when zoomed out. I also don't really like the look of google's oversided roads.

That depends on the user

[Moth7]

People respond differently to different stimuli. While you might be able to pick out the street corner you agreed to meet on from looking at a couple of lines on some paper, others (myself included) would find it beneficial to see an actual 3D visualisation of what the place looked like so that they know what and where they're aiming at.

Why?

[edwilli]

Seems to me Google does some things simply for intellectual curiosity, then ends up figuring out a way to make money off it.

Google to take over the world!

[el_womble]

Step 1: Strap frickin' laser beams to sharks head
Step 2: Map the ocean
Step 3: ????
Step 4: PROFIT!!!

There is already a virtual London project at UCL

[charlie_vernacular]

At the risk of sounding like an advert (and apologies to those who feel that I do), the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at University College London is building a 3D GIS-based model of London that will and can be used to help the public explore different urban planning outcomes (amongst other things).

About Virtual London here:

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/research/virtuallondon.h tm

About CASA's research here:

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/research/index.htm

Declaration of Interest: Professor Mike Batty, who runs CASA, was one of my PhD supervisors.

Not just the USA

[Mr_Silver]

I know that I'm in the minority here, but it would be nice that, instead of rolling out newer and cooler projects to America only, Google remembered that they have an equally large (if not larger?) user base in Europe who also made a significant contribution to their success.

Yes, we did (eventually) get Froogle here in the UK, but I don't believe any of the other countries have. Google maps also arrived, but again, I don't believe it covers anywhere else.

Now you have satellite imagery and 3D maps and again the UK hope for it and the rest of Europe seems to be out on a limb.

I have no doubt that the UK will eventually see this stuff (as with the others) and for that I am thankful - however our friends elsewhere in Euroland I fear will never see the light of day of some of this rather cool products.

Re:Not just the USA

[TwP]

Tell you what. Give me a call on your 3G cellphone and whine to me in person while sending me 2 Mpixel photos of your crappy Google interface. Or you can write me an e-mail while your zipping along at 180Kph in your bullet train with wireless capabilities. Or you can drive your fuel efficient smart car over the Atlantic ... never mind. Not all technologies make it across the pond. Sorry. That's the way it is. I'm sure if you want to give a few million dollars to Google to get these services in Europe they would be willing to listen. In fact, I'm sure they have even scoped out the business case and revenue model for brining these services to Europe. In the meantime enjoy your government health care, your month of holiday, and your labor party government ;) When the Google commandos hit the beaches to save the UK and Europe from the evils of "we-don't-have-nice-maps" we'll let you know.

I knew it...

[derkyjadex]

"...trucks equipped with lasers...", Google have finally begun their attack on the world...

Lasers on trucks are "old hat"...

[pandrijeczko]

...just nuke the site from orbit.

Here's what I would like to see one day

[ChrisF79]

Ever map out where you're going, only to find that its nearly impossible to see any address numbers on buildings, making it harder than it should be to find your destination? I'd like to see streaming video that shows you the drive to wherever you're going. Of course, you could speed it up for the long parts, but show the turns so you know what to look out for. It seems like they could equip some delivery trucks (from other companies) with cameras, maybe strike a deal with UPS or Fedex, and then sort out the video later. Of course, it would take a lot of work, but it could start with smaller cities and work its way up. Now that's what I'd like to see...

... Profit

[Savage-Rabbit]

I love the rest of the world and international types... but you gotta remember that every company thinks of their country and locale first.

Don't credit corporations with having deep rooted feelings of patriotism, you will be disappointed if you do. Every company (that is not being mismanaged) thinks about the most profitable market first so that it can bring the only people it truly cares about, the shareholders, managers and key employees, a good profit/reward. Google is launching this service in the US because they did their math and concluded it's the biggest and most profitable market.

Re:... Profit

[hhawk]

Profit Yes, but given the many HILLS and Valleys that make up SF, it might also be a great test case for what ever technology they are using.

Some would consider this good risk management; start w/ some very hard cases and see if you can handle it.

Re:... Profit

[Gaewyn L Knight]

I agree with you in the long term... however... every company at least looks at their locale first since they know that management and setup fees are usually cheaper for projects closer to home.

They may not stay there... but they always look there first.

In this case google saw a large city not too far away and most likely said 'Hey... this will be a cheap guinea pig that won't require much hassle... let's start here'

I have yet to see a business from say Michigan say... "Hey! We are starting out a new idea... let's try it in London first instead of Detroit!"

Colossal waste of money?

[ruckerz2k]

Big question, why? They could instead improve the accuracy of their google maps, which puts my house nearly a block and a half away of where it should be. Then again, we pay USGS to map out GPS maps... but I can't see the point in mapping out 3D maps.

Extra dimensions equals faster invalidity

[subStance]

I thought 2D maps had troubles with things changing and the map being incorrect. Can you imagine this ? If someone even digs up the sidewalk, the thing will become invalid.

I know there are acceptable degrees of invalidity for mapping, but wouldn't adding an extra dimension to the map make it invalid even more quickly ? The applications for which one uses 3D maps are likely to require a lower error tolerance, aren't they ?

(Someone correct me if I'm wrong - I'm no 3D modelling guru or map expert)

I Have A Plan......

[SaleNowOn]

1) Find details of the trucks route and the dates that Google will be mapping San Francisco.

2) Download pictures of the FBIs 50 most wanted and photoshop bodies on to them.

3) Get the local print shop to create life size cardboard cutouts.

4) Place cuts outs strategically around San Francisco. I like the thought of Osma coming out of McDonalds with a bigmac.

Re:What is the practical application for this?

[csteinle]

Don't know about San Francisco, but it would certainly be useful here in Edinburgh. It's possible to get lost in 3 dimensions here. If you don't know the city you can easily be standing exactly where you want to be according to the map, but be looking up thinking "how the hell do I get up there?"

Re:Well

[TGK]

Google is a US corporation, held by (wait for it) mostly US stockholders with most of its buisness interests and target market in the US.

As a corporation it is legaly bound to do what is best for its shareholders. While rolling out Google 3d Europe might be warm fuzzies, it's not necessarily the most exploitable market. Moreover, if you're going to test out an infrastructure heavy technology, why not do it in your home city (San Fran for Google)

This comes down to money. Google thinks this will make them more money than rolling out more features to Europe.... that's why.

Re:What is the practical application for this?

[Shaper_pmp]

Yeah, a sense of proportion.

And a belt to strap down that jerking knee of yours.

Jesus Christ on a crutch - why is it everything in the US now has to be defined in terms of its potential utility to terrorism? Other countries have been putting up with terrorism for years (often with the US's implicit or explicit approval) without reigning in basic human rights like privacy and freedom, but the second you have a large-scale foreign terrorist action on the US mainland suddenly the FBI can unilaterally read your mail and harsh language is banned in case it's used by Teh Terr0ri5ts!!!!

Even after 9/11, you're still hundreds of thousands of times more likely to die in a car crash than from terrorist action. Why aren't you worrying about the implications of allowing anyone to buy a car without a background check, fingerprinting, surgically-embedded RFID tag and rectal swab on file?

Re:copyright...

[WormholeFiend]

yea but you can take photographs of stuff that's outside without having to ask permission...

I would think that this new google thing would be allowed, but then again, google is a for-profit endeavor, so...

Re:Well

[space_dude_27]

To be fair to them, they have expanded the features that they have eg Google Maps (including low-res satelite images) was expanded to the UK and I dare say will be expanded to other countries in time.

If you're desperate to know when they plan to support your country then why not ask them http://www.google.com/support/maps/bin/request.py/ ? You never know, they might be good enough to tell you... ;-)

Tantrum

[Anonymous Coward]

But I want Google Maps of Europe.
I want it.
I want it.
I want it.
NOW.

LOL GoogleTank

[LaserTank2005]

Heya! Seems to me that these kind of vehicles are cruising the cities now... http://storagetank.nordinary.com/GoogleTruck.jpg

Re:There is already a virtual London project at UC

[Fulkkari]

There was a project to create a 3D model of Helsinki about 10 years ago in VRML. I think it was a part of some bigger project they called Arenanet, which included map services etc.

The version I tried on the Net was basically quite ready in that sense that it had most if not all the buildings. The project however disappeared silently some years ago. There is still this site left with some panorama photos. The original site, arenanet.fi, does not exist any more. Some remnant may still be found at http://arenanet.fi/">the Internet Archive.

Somebody know more about this project?

Re:Terms of use

[jbrocklin]

This is completely different from Google Wallpaper - this is overlaying visual map data over 3D scans of the same physical map locations. Google Wallpaper is...er...was "stitching" together images provided by Google Maps. Interesting in application, not all that difficult in implementation. Google's 3D service will be much more involved that simply stitching images together. Granted I'm thinking that there are several quick ways of doing it (OGL textures and whatnot) - but that's a lot of data to load over the web.

And Google Wallpaper wasn't a competitor - they were using Google's servers, and their data (which they payed for) to provide a service which violated the terms of service of Google Maps - and had the possibility of becoming a business for the guy. Obviously Google would have had to take legal action against the guy if he started making money off of the google maps data & service.

Re:copyright...

[MyLongNickName]

And since I own the patent on "The process of making insightful comments in a ditigal forum,"

I've scanned Slashdot. No one has any examples of prior art. You are in like Flyn!

Re:Patent your house brick arrangement

[Shaper_pmp]

"I don't know about the rest of you, but how about a little privacy?"

What, you consider un-personally-attributable images merely of your building to be a privacy violation?

Dude, I hate to break it to you, but your privacy is being violated hundreds of times a day - they're called passers-by. You might want to spend some time on the corner of your lot with paper head-bags and a persuasive smile.

"There will be a great deal of abuse here. Imagine some girl gives out her phone number, or some guy finds it in a phone book."

Ignoring the sheer difficulty of doing reverse-lookups from phone number to address (which is made intentionally hard, for this very reason)...

"They find the address, they map it out. They even know what bushes to hide behind. Neat, tech helping pervs."

Right, and they can't do this with... oh, I dunno... a paper map? Or by, you know, walking past the house once or twice?

"I can see the mafia use this technology too. What to kill someone? How about a little research first. Lets see what roads lead to his house and away."

Right, 'cause the Mafia are always bumping off people left, right and centre round where I live. How about you?

And face it, any hitman or criminal who plans his crimes without first thoroughly casing the joint in real life first is a fucking retard.

And someone that fucking stupid is going to be caught pretty soon anyway when they realise sniper rifles don't flush.

You know, it's just occurred that you might be trolling - congrats if so, I utterly fell for it.

You were trolling, right?

Re:Well

[teksno]

before they would even conceve a plan like this im sure that they spoke with the mayors office yo get what ever permits they needed.

and now for your reading pleasure, the teksno players reinactment of the trip to the permit office:

minimum wage clerk:"next...man i hate my f*#king job...

Google:"yes hi, i was wondering if we could get a permit to drive around the city with a truck full of lasers and scan all the buildings. we're trying to make a 3d map of the city..."

clerk: what the hell is this granolla nut talking about... ummm..what?

google: id like to make a 3d map of the city...we have big trucks woth lasers that are going to kill ever...er....scan all the buildings so we can plan our take over of the world one city at a time...i mean ...wow did i just say that...what i meant to say is...ummm...yeah...look i doubt you have any permits for what i want to do so just give me one of everything...cause all i REALLY want to di is make a map of the city.

clerk: you can but a map at the gas station on the cornner...

Google: can i please just have all the permits you guys have...i want to do something so technologicaly advanced that no one in their right mind would even think about doing it...

clerk: well ok, wheres your paper work?

google:err...paper work...umm...yeah about that....look im from google...we didnt really know we needed paper work...

clerk: oh Google....like gmail and stuff...thats so cool. here ya go....dont worry about any paper work...ill take care of it. by the way, can i have an invite to gmail...i hear its kinda exclusive

google: ...yeah...its real exclusive....here sonce youve been so cool about the whole paper work thing, heres 10,000,000,000 invites...do what ever you want with em..

clerk: WOW!!!thanks. im so cool.

Re:Patent your house brick arrangement

[th1nk]

Ignoring the sheer difficulty of doing reverse-lookups from phone number to address (which is made intentionally hard, for this very reason)...

Sheer difficulty? If you type a listed land-line number into Google, it will display the name and address associated with that number.