Fifteen years and 400 times around the Earth afterwards, looking at Google Street still promises many years of innovation. In addition to the increasingly expressed use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the American giant’s tool opens up new areas to discover. Because for fifteen years, Google Street View has captured more than 100 countries and aims to continue the path traveled by surpassing even more of these 220 billion images accessible to all.
If we all know the famous “Google street car” that travels from city to city, the question now arises of accessibility in places that are not. In fact, for many years, Google Street View wanted to make capture as mobile as possible to access dangerous and sometimes dangerous areas. A camera placed behind a desert camel or a snowmobile in the middle of an Arctic ice pack, there are so many options invented by Google to create the deepest maps.
In 2023, Google Street View will even give birth to its new gem, a small robot, with a Wall-E false wind, that can help take on-board shots of any vehicle. A success because “all the load, resolution and computing power, until now combined in one car, can now be used in a camera that weighs 7 kg, is ultra-transportable and customized “, lined up the Google team. .
Stratospheric capture
Thanks to new tools, Google Street View intends to travel a little more… up to the International Space Station (ISS) for example, as in 2017. During the expedition of French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Google Street View allowed Internet users can discover. the capsule world with a 360 ° view inside the station.
But if you want to keep your feet on the ground, Google Street View also allows you to find many places that are popular with tourists and sometimes very secretive. The third most visited site in the world on Google Street View, behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal is full of inaccessible places. And while Google Street View hasn’t even launched in India, Internet users have made it possible to explore this unique collection inside and out.
“A place with a thousand faces”
Behind this wealth of images, Google boasts an ambition to open up the culture. For ten years, the Google arts and culture team has opened the doors of more than 2,000 cultural institutions around the world, to “feed the appetite of the Internet user online”, lining his head with fellowship. Pierre Caessa.
Most recently, the Army Museum and the Hôtel National des Invalides now want to open up to Internet users by allowing them to discover its most secret walks. “A place with a thousand faces”, said Cécile Chassagne, head of digital and innovation mission at the Army Museum and Hôtel national des Invalides. From this Tuesday, the most curious can explore the Dôme des Invalides, get as close as possible to the crypt of Napoleon 1st’s tomb or even climb the Lanternon which reveals a panoramic view of Paris. “There’s a unique part to the place, but it’s also a secret part. Whether it’s in the attic of the cathedral or on the level of the frescoes, when you come to these places for the first time, it’s amazing and we want to share it with everyone, ”said Cécile Chassagne.
A collaborative and scalable tool
To access these tight areas, the Parisian Google Street View team this time used a tripod, which helps capture that famous 360-degree image. Beyond its wide panorama, the tripod is also a terrific weapon. “There are still 107 meters of stairs and it’s very small,” said Pierre Caessa, supporting evidence with a video of the narrower staircase. Even more remarkable, the shooting even allows the Internet user to understand small details such as the inscriptions left by the painter Charles de La Fosse in the 18th century.
A partnership that is likely to last over time, reassures both parties, that emphasizes the richness of this collaboration tool where Internet users can also capture their own sights. “It’s very scalable,” exclaimed Pierre Caessa, assuring that more nice surprises will come.
Paris is one of the most visited places in Google street view
For the first time, Google street view unveils the top 10 most visited cities in the world. On the podium, we see Jakarta, Tokyo and Mexico City. Then follow São Polo, Buenos Aires, New York, Istanbul, Taipei, Paris and Osaka.
While France is also one of the most visited countries on the site, some monuments have attracted even more attention, such as the Eiffel Tower (1st), Louvre Museum (3rd) or even Disneyland Paris (5th). More surprisingly, the Ocean Serpent, a large work submerged in the waters of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique) is the second most visited places in France.