S'pore, you're on Google
5th nation to be featured on Street View offering ground-level 3-D views
By Tan Weizhen
A Google car with roof-top cameras, one of several such vehicles roaming the city, was spotted beside the Bishan Institute of Technical Education campus on Friday. -- PHOTO: KENNETH PINTO
View more photos
LAST week, you may have spotted cars jetting around town with four cameras mounted on the roof and the word 'Google' emblazoned on the side.
But they are not a marketing ploy hatched by the Internet powerhouse. Instead, the vehicles are part of a project to put Singapore on the virtual map.
The cars are taking pictures of landmarks, hotels and stores for Google Street View, a three-dimensional application that combines thousands of photos to create a panoramic view of a city.
The program promises to offer netizens a 360-degree, ground-level perspective of Singapore. Tools will let users tilt, zoom in and move along the streets in any direction.
The project is scheduled to be finished in a few months. Because work is ongoing, Google officials declined to say how many camera-equipped cars are on the roads and which areas they are surveying.
When the work is finished, Singapore will be the fifth country after the United States, Australia, Japan and France to be featured on Street View.
Netizens have used the application for more than just finding their way around. They have done everything from checking out real estate, to shaming police caught lazing on the job by camera cars.
Some Singaporeans are excited about the application, saying it will make finding places easier than a conventional 2-D map.
Administrative officer Kenneth Pinto, 30, spotted a Google car beside the Bishan Institute of Technical Education campus last Friday morning. He said: 'It's perfect for people who can't read maps, as it offers a real, ground perspective of how to get to a place.'
Teacher Wendy Tan, 30, plans to use Street View while preparing for a class trip to Kampong Glam where students will have to navigate on their own.
'Google Street View, which is 3-D, will allow the students to see and plan better how they will actually get around,' said Ms Tan, head of geography at Crescent Girls' School.
The program will also allow users to search for the name of a restaurant, for example, and view it as if they were standing at the front door. It is a prospect that excites small business owners.
Mr Evan Chung, 27, a director of a cafe, Essential Brew, said: 'Our cafe is located at street level, at a front shophouse at Holland Village, so it helps that users can walk their way to our cafe online before coming here.'
Google said the program would also allow tourists to preview restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and public events before arriving.
However, the company declined to reveal which areas of the island will be covered, saying only that the cars are being sent out randomly over the next few months.
The Government is developing a similar virtual 3-D model of Singapore called Co-Space, but Google's would be the first based on photo imagery.
[email protected]
Read also: Is Big Brother getting too close?
5th nation to be featured on Street View offering ground-level 3-D views
By Tan Weizhen
A Google car with roof-top cameras, one of several such vehicles roaming the city, was spotted beside the Bishan Institute of Technical Education campus on Friday. -- PHOTO: KENNETH PINTO
View more photos
LAST week, you may have spotted cars jetting around town with four cameras mounted on the roof and the word 'Google' emblazoned on the side.
But they are not a marketing ploy hatched by the Internet powerhouse. Instead, the vehicles are part of a project to put Singapore on the virtual map.
The cars are taking pictures of landmarks, hotels and stores for Google Street View, a three-dimensional application that combines thousands of photos to create a panoramic view of a city.
The program promises to offer netizens a 360-degree, ground-level perspective of Singapore. Tools will let users tilt, zoom in and move along the streets in any direction.
The project is scheduled to be finished in a few months. Because work is ongoing, Google officials declined to say how many camera-equipped cars are on the roads and which areas they are surveying.
When the work is finished, Singapore will be the fifth country after the United States, Australia, Japan and France to be featured on Street View.
Netizens have used the application for more than just finding their way around. They have done everything from checking out real estate, to shaming police caught lazing on the job by camera cars.
Some Singaporeans are excited about the application, saying it will make finding places easier than a conventional 2-D map.
Administrative officer Kenneth Pinto, 30, spotted a Google car beside the Bishan Institute of Technical Education campus last Friday morning. He said: 'It's perfect for people who can't read maps, as it offers a real, ground perspective of how to get to a place.'
Teacher Wendy Tan, 30, plans to use Street View while preparing for a class trip to Kampong Glam where students will have to navigate on their own.
'Google Street View, which is 3-D, will allow the students to see and plan better how they will actually get around,' said Ms Tan, head of geography at Crescent Girls' School.
The program will also allow users to search for the name of a restaurant, for example, and view it as if they were standing at the front door. It is a prospect that excites small business owners.
Mr Evan Chung, 27, a director of a cafe, Essential Brew, said: 'Our cafe is located at street level, at a front shophouse at Holland Village, so it helps that users can walk their way to our cafe online before coming here.'
Google said the program would also allow tourists to preview restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and public events before arriving.
However, the company declined to reveal which areas of the island will be covered, saying only that the cars are being sent out randomly over the next few months.
The Government is developing a similar virtual 3-D model of Singapore called Co-Space, but Google's would be the first based on photo imagery.
[email protected]
Read also: Is Big Brother getting too close?
