Visualized: Google Street View car fleet gets ready to conquer (and map) the world

Ever wonder how Google can make such grandiose claims for the sheer amount of Street View imagery it collects? Here's how. Google's Masrur Odinaev has posted a snapshot of a central mapping car parking lot that shows dozens of the camera-equipped Subaru Imprezas amassed ahead of future runs. While it already represents more Street View cars in one place than anyone outside of Google would normally ever see, what's most impressive is remembering that this addresses just a portion of the entire vehicle mix -- aside from the local cars you don't see in the photo, there are extra units worldwide providing street-level coverage alongside tricycles and underwater expeditions. Odinaev's look reminds us just how much effort is needed to make Street View a common feature -- and that there are are legions of Google staffers whose low-profile work goes a long way towards making our navigation easier.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Internet, Google

Visualized: Google Street View car fleet gets ready to conquer (and map) the world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.