I just couldn’t resist blogging about this Wednesday morning find!
I often use Google Maps to explore maps or find places. When Google Maps launched street view I was able to explore cities I had never been to, return to places I have been in the past, and check out places that were very familiar to me. Streetview was an awesome addition to the Google Maps experience, as it gave another perspective to the exploration of a map. You could actually see what was happening at street level.
I am sure many have explored cities by Streetview, navigating along by pointing and clicking in the direction you wish to go. Now I see that GlobalVision 360° from Geneva, Switzerland have taken this a step further by enabling video street view for selected areas of the world! The experience is like being able to drive along streets around the world. But you don’t have to keep your hands on the wheel, which means you can look all around as you drive through the cities!
On first glance I couldn’t quite believe it! It was a bit of a surreal experience. It looks a lot like Google Streetview imagery. So when I dropped the street view marker and saw a woman walk across the street, I nearly dropped my coffee! The picture came to life and I was cruising through the streets of Zurich. If not mesmerizing enough, I then noticed the video controls, not only am I moving through the map, but I can also look around.
I thought this project might be using the Google street view imagery, but it looks like GlobalVision 360° has taken panoramic photo cars and captured their own images. I think they must have captured the imagery at a higher frame rate as the video is quite smooth for most locations. I compared the image of a location in Google Maps and Video Street View to check.
So the quality is much higher in Google Maps but Video Street View has really added to the experience. Check out the video above for a walkthrough of the Video Street View experience. Imagine if we had this at high quality for every area of the world! I suspect and hope that Google will buy Video Street View and make this a reality!
So far Video Street View has captured driving experiences in Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. I would love to see Cape Town represented as it has such a stunning coastline!