Google Maps to bring "Street View" to hiking trails

[chumley]

OK, I've always thought that Google was a little bit over-the-top "Big Brother"-ish ... but I'd like to know who they're going to get drag the huge 360-degree camera equipment around on actual hiking trails?

Google takes its map cam for a spin on biking, hiking trails
By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Meet the Google trike.
It's the sequel, of sorts, to the Google Maps-mobile, a specially rigged car with an antenna, GPS and camera that snaps 360-degree images of neighborhoods for display in the "Street View" section of Google Maps.

Now Google Maps is expanding to biking and hiking trails. A Google employee on a tricycle rides around to snap the same wide-area views.

"Much of the world is inaccessible to the car," says Daniel Ratner, a Google senior engineer who designed the trike. "We want to get access to places people find important."

The project just got underway. So far, only a bike trail in Monterey, Calif., is up and running. Google has cyclists out now in California, Italy and the United Kingdom. The company says to look for hiking and biking images from those locations over the summer — along with shots from U.S. theme parks. Google won't say which ones.

The U.S. audience has mostly embraced Street View, currently offered in nine countries. But Google hopes to find a better reaction to the trike project than it met with Street View's recent expansion into Europe and Asia. Officials and citizens in Greece, the United Kingdom and Japan complained loudly about invasion of privacy over the project.

Stephen Chau, a product manager for Google Maps, says that what the Google cars picked up photographically was no different from what any tourist would see on vacation.

"We show images that are taken from public streets," he says. Chau says the complaints about the product are minimal considering its usage, and many people just have an initial misunderstanding. "We have tools to automatically blur faces, if they show up, and license plates."

Additionally, homeowners who object to their homes being shown can contact Google and request removal.

In Japan, Google received so many complaints that it was forced to scrap its initial crop of pictures, because the car-mounted camera was too high. It ended up seeing over fences into private areas.

In rural England, residents near the small village of Milton Keynes blockaded entry to prevent the Google-mobile from entering and getting pictures.

And in Greece, local news reports have said Google has been banned from taking more pictures, but the company says that's not true. Instead, it is having discussions with local officials to explain the project in more detail.

Here in the U.S., Street View has been met with high interest and little public outcry, says Chau.

"What I care about is usage," Chau says. "Since we've launched Street View, it's gotten tremendous positive feedback. We're spreading to more countries, because the feedback is so strong."

Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land and a former U.K. resident, says Europeans and Asians have objected to Street View simply because it arrived with a bang. "Here, it just happened," he says, "but there, it came across as a Google invasion."

The addition of biking and hiking trails to Street View is a smooth marketing move, he says. "I see Google saying, 'You're freaked out by Street View, well, look at this. What's not to like about biking and hiking trails?' It makes the whole project now seem warm and fuzzy."

Ratner's trike is a modified three-wheeled bike, like the ones used to take tourists for a spin, with a huge antenna and camera on back. It looks so different from a normal bike that when people see him, they ask, " 'Is that a Google robot?' " Ratner says.

Meanwhile, what's next? Street View images from boats?

"Don't laugh, we've actually gotten various inquiries from people who operate boats," Chau says. "There are no current plans, but we'd love to do it."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009- ... ogle_N.htm

[joebartels]

Thanks for posting the actual article as links prove useless in the future.

Since bikes aren't allowed in Wilderness they'll be missing the good stuff.

Rodney wanted to do video hikes five or so years ago. Perhaps it'll catch on someday, I don't know. I've specifically kept the hiking pages to one feature photo. Not everybody wants to know everything. The grand lure to me is discovery.

[writelots]

"Much of the world is inaccessible to the car," says Daniel Ratner, a Google senior engineer who designed the trike. "We want to get access to places people find important."

What if people find them important because they're places you can't just pull up the internet to visit? I mean, I love the artistry of all the photos in places like HAZ, but there's no artistry in the Google images. I suppose there's no fighting the world getting smaller...

Interesting that there's such a hub-ub about the actual city images... Here in Pima County, there is a very well established system for creating and sharing aerial photography of the entire county, including oblique photos to include the facades of buildings - including houses. Not only can you search for a particular address and find photos of the house from a number of angles, but you can also instantly pull up all of the tax info, building permits, etc. Afterall, it's all on the public record... People who think they can hide from the watchful eye of the big-brother or bad guys needs to move further out of town. If this trail thing takes off, it may be impossible to hide anywhere...

[Jeffshadows]

There won't be 360-views of most of the trails I really enjoy anytime soon.

[SuperstitionGuy]

"Much of the world is inaccessible to the car," says Daniel Ratner, a Google senior engineer who designed the trike. "We want to get access to places people find important."

Give the camera to Te-Wa and in thirty days he will have redesigned it to fit on his back and weigh only twenty pounds... :bigth:

[Sredfield]

I wonder where to apply to haul the camera up and down the trails. Getting paid for hiking/backpacking--isn't that nirvana?

[big_load]

Google won't rest until every last shred of privacy is eradicated. Coming next: Google Tent View and Google Sleeping Bag View.

[Jim]

I was using Google street view one day and came across my car parked in front of the place I used to work at. I thought it was pretty funny.

[Jim]

I was just messing around with street view. If you put yourself in front of La Bellavia eatery on South Beaver St in Flagstaff you can see a car attempting to drive north on Beaver street against the one way traffic. You can clearly see cars coming towards him in the lane he is in, and a one way sign next to him. Its pretty funny.

[chumley]

Apparently this project is now well underway. Have a gander from inside the Detroit Zoo: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 1111080311

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them devise a way to get this on some of the more popular hiking trails around the world. Maybe a couple of Grand Canyon routes? Touristy spots like Diamond Head in Honolulu? It's just a matter of time I think.

I'm most disturbed by the following quote from the article

"So many of the most interesting spots in the world, cars can't go," says Google staff mechanical engineer Daniel Ratner. "But they're places that people want to see."

So get your fat pumpkin pumpkin off the pumpkin couch and go see it then! Google is NOT the answer!

Peru's Machu Picchu, for example, is off limits because of its location atop a mountain ridge. But don't expect that to stay offline for long.
"We will be expanding what the trike is currently able to accomplish," Ratner says.

Help us all.

[chumley]

It's here! Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Smoky Mtns are now live. You can virtual hike here:
http://naturevalleytrailview.com/grand-canyon

I wish they used layers on their maps to include aerial and topo.

Here's an interesting video of "the making of..."
I like the little camera setup. Joe should get that going for HAZ "mapped areas"
http://vimeo.com/38123505

[Dave1]

Google cameras map popular Grand Canyon trails

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) -- Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside the Smithsonian with a push cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.

The search giant now has brought its all-seeing eyes - mounted for the first time on a backpack - down into the Grand Canyon, showcasing the attraction's most popular hiking trails on the South Rim and other walkways....

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Google-cam ... 98611.html

[cactuscat]

OK, I've always thought that Google was a little bit over-the-top "Big Brother"-ish ... but I'd like to know who they're going to get drag the huge 360-degree camera equipment around on actual hiking trails?

See my SK pics from yesterday!

[chumley]

See my SK pics from yesterday!

That's crazy. Looks very uncomfortable. But I wonder how much they pay. I might be interested in lugging that thing around the state!
http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=292003
http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=292002

[kingsnake]

Edward Abbey is rolling in his grave ...

[Dave1]

Edward Abbey is rolling in his grave ...

But he probably made a good chunk of change writing stories about national parks.

[Espi]

Wonder how often he got asked what it was? Betcha that makes for slow going. Hope he is payed by the hour, not the mile.

I had a hard enough time getting up BA with an exposed fishing rod on my pack.

[Tough_Boots]

I still hate this whole thing... if I was ever caught behind one of these guys, I'd be photo-bombing all day (along with some choice hand gestures).

[Al_HikesAZ]

“You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths.” John Wesley Powell

[autumnstars]

For some, this is probably a supreme oppurtunity.
Take my grandma. She is 99 years old, and will never get to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, no matter her level of motivation and desire.
Then again, she likely wouldn't enjoy this trail-view thing as much as me showing her pictures from my latest trip, while telling her about it.

However, I am highly disturbed by how life is becoming ever more virtual.
There is a lot of value in actually experiencing reality for yourself.

Riding an exercise bike while watching a video of French streets is NOT the same thing as riding your bike through the streets of Paris!