Google is testing a connected photos beta feature on the Street View app that lets users contribute to Street View on Google Maps from their phone.
Google’s updated Street View app on Android will allow users to collect their own Street View imagery and put it in the right place on Google Maps
“Using our new connected photos tool in the app, you can record a series of connected images as you move down a street or path,” explained a blog post form Google.
These images are captured using ARCore, the same augmented reality technology that Google uses for features such as Live View.
Users with devices that are compatible with the technology can contribute to Street View using the app.
“After you record your images and publish them via the Street View app, we automatically rotate, position and create a series of connected photos. We then place those connected images in the right place on Google Maps,” explained Google.
Previously, only those users with the right equipment, such as special 360-degree cameras, were able to capture and publish Street View imagery.
Connected photos contributed by people using the new feature will appear in the Street View layer on Google Maps as dotted blue lines.
The existing Google Street View imagery will be shown as the primary Street View experience with a solid blue line on Maps.
“While it’s still early days for this beta feature, there are already examples of people adding their own connected photos—from Nigeria to Japan and Brazil,” Google said.
These connected photos will also have the same privacy controls, including face and license-plate blurring treatment that are applied in the regular Street View photos that Google captures.
The connected photos beta feature is now available for people using the Street View app with an ARCore-compatible Android device in Toronto, Canada, New York, NY and Austin, TX, along with Nigeria, Indonesia and Costa Rica. It will add support for more regions soon, Google said.
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