Gizmodo Australia » google street view

Take A Virtual Tour Through Google Street View On A Stationary Bike

Sean Fallon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Using a Vuzix headset, a laptop, Arduino and a bike sensor, Aki Mimoto was able to rig up his wife’s stationary bike to transport himself through a virtual Google Street View environment.

Of course, that means you wouldn’t have to sit staring at a wall or a TV while exercising — you could virtually travel down roads anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the design needs some tinkering to be really usable — but it’s a fantastic concept that’s really worth pursuing. If there was a commercial product that got this right, I would probably be all over it. Hit the following link to learn how to do something like this at home. [Bako via Make]

Google Street View Captures Fire Truck Hit-And-Run On Old Lady

Sean Fallon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:40:00 +0000

The latest adventure for the Google Street View car comes to us from the Netherlands, where it witnessed a fire truck mow down an innocent old lady on a bike.

Grotere kaart weergeven

Yeah, it looks like the fire truck just continued down the street like nothing happened. Look at her, in the classic “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” pose. Poor thing. Fortunately for the bike lady, Google did what fire fighters are supposed to do — come to the rescue. [Jalopnik]

Google Street View Driver Doomed To Map Hell For All Of Eternity

John Herrman — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:20:00 +0000

After careening into a wall outside of Rankin, PA, one Street View photographer has been trapped and condemned to send dispatches from a horrifying hellscape, forever. This is the highly empirical theory that the internet, and I, am sticking with.

As per the instructions by the gentleman on Reddit who found this anomaly, “click forward“. And as per my instructions, click forward again. And again, and again, and again. Again!

Then sputter a little prayer in Latin, exorcise your laptop, slaughter a baby goat, whatever you have to do to help this man escape this fiery, oddly typographical abyss, which never ends. (Except for when it does, somewhere around East Pittsburgh.) [Reddit]

Where Would You Like To Send The Street View Trike?

Chris Jacob — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:50:00 +0000

The Street View Trike has been around for a while, but now Google is looking for more places to send it. Know a cool spot where a car can’t go? Google wants to hear about it.

If you have any actual ideas, they’re looking for suggestions of parks, trails, university campuses, pedestrian malls, theme parks, zoos, landmarks and sports venues. If you have any ideas about good shooting locales, head over to www.google.com/trike and submit them before October 28.

Google wants to hear about where the trike should go, but I’d rather hear where you guys think it shouldn’t go. [Google]

Google Street View Drivers Had No Idea What They Were In For

Adam Frucci — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:09:09 +0000

Getting paid to go on a road trip? Sweet! But wait, just how far do you want us to drive again? [Collegehumor]

If You Lived Here…Your Van Would Be On Fire

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:23:34 +0000

Something tells me the Google Street View team should be equipped with emergency response gear and training. What tells me this? This van that’s totally on fire, for one thing. [Google via Twitter - thanks Will!]

DIY Google Street View Camera Lets You Infuriate Shut-Ins

Adam Frucci — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Google’s spent millions of dollars sending its Street View cars around the world, photographing streets so you can see them on the internet. And now you can replicate this for some reason.

Created for a class at West Point, Roy D. Ragsdale created his prototype setup using a laptop, $US300 of off-the-shelf components and open source software. As he drives it around, it captures eight 1280×1024 jpegs that are then stitched together and uploaded to Google Earth.

It’s certainly impressive, and I can see how one could want to make Street-View-like images of private property. But for most of us, I think letting Google do the heavy lifting is working out just fine. [IEEE Spectrum via Make]

Google Street View Car Speeding Through Laguna Seca Racetrack

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Holy Mother of Steve McQueen! A crazy, perhaps strayed Google Street View got into the Laguna Seca Racetrack, chasing a badass group formed by a prepared Porsche, Corvette, Mazda, and—I think—an spiffy Audi.

View Larger Map

Faster faster, kill kill pussycat. [Thanks Alteredspeed08]

Google Street View Car Can’t Resist Drive-Thru Urges

Jason Chen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Of all the funny things Google Street View cars have captured, stopping by a fast-food resteaurant for lunch is probably the most delicious. Oh and that man/woman peeing on the street. That was pretty delicious too. [Google via Digg]

Muggers Caught After Crime Was Captured By Google Street View

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Last September, a 14-year-old Dutch boy was assaulted and robbed after being shoved off his bike. But with no evidence and no real idea who his assailants were, police were powerless—until the crime showed up on Street View.

The photo shows the boy being tailed closely by two men who matched the boy’s original description, but Dutch police actually had to send a formal request to Google to have the faces unblurred. When Google complied, a policeman recognised one of the men (actually twins) as a suspect wanted for similar robberies, and was able to finally make the arrest, six months after the crime.

So beware, felons: The Google cars are watching. [AP]