Google’s view of Indian streets begins from Bangalore

Google on Thursday announced that it will begin collecting street-level imageries for its Street View in India from Bangalore, four years after it was initiated in the US.

Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth, which allows users to explore places around the world through 360-degree views from various positions along many streets in the world.

The California, US-based Internet search giant has already incorporated the feature in as many as 27 countries.

Announcing the launch of Street View in Bangalore, Vinay Goel, country head, products, Google, said it would soon be taken to other places across the country. The internet giant has decided to begin the collection of imageries from Nrithyagram, a dance village promoting Indian classical dance forms, located in Hessaraghatta.

Street View comprising the streets of India would be incorporated to Google Maps and Google Earth on a later date.

“Bangalore being the IT capital of India was the obvious choice to start with. The aim is to map India in totality which is a tough job considering two-third streets in India do not have names,” he said.

Camera-mounted vehicles would be used to capture the imageries, Google said, adding that specially designed three wheel pedi-cab, the trike, would be deployed in streets inaccessible to cars.

Street View would be useful for urban development planners, house hunters and travellers. Users could also check parking slots before arriving at a place and arrange meeting points. Businesses can also benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their websites.

Learning from its experience in the US, where the concept came under fire because of privacy issues, Google would blur human faces and registration number plates of vehicles to render them unidentifiable.

Users could also request Google to further obscure any images. Goel said the company would look into such requests. An option, “Report a problem,” would be incorporated on each Street View image.

First introduced in the US in 2007, Google Street View had come under fire by governments as well as individuals for alleged breach of privacy. There had been instances of Google cameras inadvertently capturing images of private moments, besides candid picture which those pictured would prefer to hide from the world.