The Limited Times

Google Maps covers 98% of the globe

12/17/2019, 12:35:05 PM


For Street View captured over 10 million image miles (ANSA)

Google maps, among the most popular services of the technological giant, are close to 100% coverage of the part of the inhabited earth globe. According to the Cnet site that reports the figures, Big G has captured 36 million square miles of high-definition satellite images with the Earth application, covering areas where 98% of the entire population lives. Instead for Street View, a service launched in 2004, over 10 million miles of images were captured, enough distance to travel the globe 400 times. In total, Google Maps has 1 billion active monthly users.

Big G has also better explained the techniques it uses to capture as many images as possible, such as cars equipped with cameras that can take pictures from various angles while they are driving in the streets. For areas where it is not possible to arrive by car, such as nature reserves, Google uses people equipped with Trekker backpacks. Survey methods that in the past have sparked controversy over privacy.

Finally, a technique called photogrammetry is used to mend different images together. In practice, it is the same technique that Google uses in virtual reality experiences, including the virtual Versailles tour created for users of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift viewers.