Inside Google Street View

Google has updated the articles about Google Street View with more information. Google explains how it intitially used vans to capture images, but they were later replaced by cars and tricycles.

{ photo licensed as Creative Commons By-NC by Andrew Dickson }

"Our current platforms include nine directional cameras for the 360° views, a GPS unit for positioning and laser range scanners. We design and engineer the Street View platforms to be simple and require minimal manufacturing resources. This approach facilitates the ability to be up and running in a short period of time and allows us to quickly scale and get our vehicles on the road around the world."

There's also a list of locations in which Google's Street View cars are operating, but it's limited to three countries: Canada, Germany and Switzerland.

{ via Google LatLong }