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lat long blog

The Ground Truth project

September 12, 2014

We told you earlier in the week how the Google Maps data is not always 100% accurate. Google does, however, put in an extraordinary amount effort into making it the best it can be.

Google originally depended largely on external data providers for its maps information. But that changed in 2008 when project Ground Truth was founded. The Ground Truth project involves getting data from authoritative sources such as governments, postal services and map providers, which is then overlayed on satellite imagery and updated to make it more accurate. Google then uses satellite imagery and Street View imagery to add a lot more data to the map. It uses a variety of processes including a lot of manual editing by highly trained map editors, as well as a number of algorithmic methods, such as using computer vision to go through Street View imagery and pick out street signs, street names, business logos and more. Finally, they get feed back from users via the ‘Report a problem’ feature, or Google Map Maker.

It is important to realize that there is a lot more to maps than what you see directly in Google Maps. Google Maps also contains a lot of hidden information such as road rules, including speed limits, one way streets, traffic lights, stop/yield signs and no turn signs. These are used by Google maps when providing directions.

Street View to Map
Google Maps contains a lot more than just street names.

The Ground Truth project is not yet used for the whole world, but they have been expanding rapidly. Ground Truth recently announced their 50th country. For the remaining countries they use a combination of external data providers and Google Map Maker.

For a more in depth look at the Ground Truth project watch this excellent presentation from Google I/O 2013 and read a four part series on the making of maps on the Google Lat Long Blog. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Filed Under: Navigation, Street View Tagged With: google maps, ground truth, lat long blog, map maker

Google releases Street View imagery for all 12 World Cup stadiums in Brazil

June 5, 2014

The 2014 World Cup is a week away, and Google has just released Street View imagery for all 12 stadiums. As you’d expect, the imagery is very sharp and looks great!

world cup stadiums in street view

In addition, Google has released imagery for the “painted streets” in Brazil:

painted streets

To go along with the new imagery in Brazil, they’ve also added fresh Street View imagery in Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

You can read more about these updates on the Google Lat Long Blog, or go explore the stadiums and painted streets for yourself.

Filed Under: Google Earth News, Sightseeing, Sports Tagged With: brazil, lat long blog, painted streets, soccer, street view, world cup

Google releases historical Street View feature

April 24, 2014

We first considered this possibility a little over two years ago, and it’s finally here — historical Street View imagery!

historical street view

Activating it is quite simple. While viewing imagery in Street View, simply click the clock in the upper-left part of the screen (as shown in the image above) to choose a different time. Note that this feature is rolling out in stages, and you may not yet have access to it.

The imagery dates back to 2007 in some areas, and could be quite useful in a number of scenarios, particularly as the collection continues to grow over time. This feature is not yet available in Google Earth (only on Google Maps), but presumably will be added at some point in the future. However, Google Earth does have the incredibly useful historical imagery feature. Having both of those available in one interface will be quite nice!

You can read more about this new feature over on the Google Lat Long Blog.

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: historical, lat long blog, street view

Explore the temples of Angkor Wat in Google Street View

April 3, 2014

We’ve seen Google generate many thousands of miles of Street View imagery over the years.  From cities such as Venice, to neat places such as a corn maze, to amazing locations such as the Grand Canyon, Google’s various Street View-capturing tools seem to be able to get it all.

Now they’ve just released imagery of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, using their popular Street View cars, the innovative trekker and other tools.

angkor wat street view

You can view it for yourself here or read more about it on the Google Lat Long Blog.

For more, here is a short video that Google made to show it off a bit more:

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: angkor wat, cambodia, lat long blog, street view



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