Google Street View DIY Edition
Insta360 Pro camera
Photo: ECG Productions
Google has just certified a Chinese-made special camera to be used in its Street View Ready program that it kicked off back in spring of this year. Long story short, consumers can now buy this camera, mount it to the roof of their vehicle, and hit the roads to take their own Street View pictures. If the pictures comply with Google’s algorithms, the company might just upload the shots to the Street View app as well as Google Earth and Google Maps.
Insta360 is the manufacturer that gets the credit for this innovative new gadget. It’s called the Pro camera and it takes 8K, 360-degree images.
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Google Street view panorama of Nuevo Laredo
Photo: swilsonmc
How does the upload process work? After an individual takes the Street View pictures, they can simply upload them to Street View via two apps: Street View app and Insta360’s Pro Stitcher desktop app. It might take a few days or weeks for Google to process the pictures and attribute them to the individual, but hey, it’s definitely possible.
Google’s endorsement of the Pro camera comes in the context of the company’s new initiative to fill in the gaps of Street View technology. The idea is for ordinary citizens—who have the desire and means to purchase the $3,500 gadget—to take and upload pictures of the scenes that Google’s Street View cars miss.
Google Street View cars are smart, but they sometimes miss some great shots.
Photo: Walter Baxter
Even if you can’t afford such a pricey investment, however, you might still be able to participate in DIY Street View photography; Insta360 claims that Google will launch a Street View camera loan program featuring 50 cameras available for citizens to use.
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Whitney Russell resides in Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not crafting car-related content, she can be found chasing after the most amazing toddler in the world, watching her “beaver” of a husband build amazing woodworking projects, hanging out with two crazy dogs, and visiting family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, crafting, and binge-watching period dramas when time allows. See more articles by Whitney.