Google Upgrades Street View Camera System; Will It Help India’s Street View?

Google Maps is one of the most widely used services across many countries, including India. Maps offer several features, including the popular Street View, which debuted 15 years ago. Now, Google has announced a few updates for Google Maps Street View for Android and iOS.

Google Maps Street View Hardware Upgrades

One of the significant new upgrades announced is the hardware behind Street View. This includes a new camera system for Google Street View, which comes with high resolution and advanced processing capability, and is much smaller now. Google says the smaller camera for Street View is about 15 pounds or 6.08 Kg.

Google hopes the smaller-sized camera will make it easier to get data across the world, including hard terrain like the Amazon jungle. A smaller camera could also navigate in smaller and remote areas, including cities in India.

A smaller camera for Google Street View also means it can be shipped and mounted to any type of vehicle. The company further stated that it had to create new camera systems to fit whatever area it wanted to capture. Plus, the new camera is modular and customizable. For instance, it skips LiDAR systems but can be included when operating in cities.

New Features On Google Maps Street View

One of the new features announced is the ability users now have to 'go back in time' using Street View. This feature has been available on the web version and is now arriving on the mobile apps. If you want to go back in time and look at the Street View, select the 'see more dates' option.

That said, this is a feature that'll work only in locations where Google has a lot of historical Street View data. The most popular ones right now include American cities like New York, San Francisco, and so on.

Google Street View In India

While Google Maps is popular in the country, Street View is in its infancy in the country. Bringing a new camera module to access the roads and terrain of India could further give it a boost. Google says that the new camera system is under testing right now, and a full rollout is expected in 2023.