While I agree something like this sounds really neat, I am curious what the value proposition is? Pointedly, is it any higher than doing the same thing in a video game in a fantasy world?

▲

seszett 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A more accurate, 3D mapped street view could probably allow GPS-less geolocation and could also help autonomous vehicles as they would get more information than what they can immediately see.

I could see well-mapped street view with good services built around it, and maybe a way to pay for and schedule regular updates, being used for towns to monitor public space long term too.

I think many things could be built on a better street view, but I also don't want Google to get yet another de facto monopoly in a new domain.

	▲	int0x29 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This already exists. If my phone fails to get a good GPS signal Google Maps prompts me to turn the camera on and spin around in a circle. I would also be unsurprised to learn Waymo uses Street View
	▲	Legend2440 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		>could also help autonomous vehicles as they would get more information than what they can immediately see. Waymo and others already do this, that's why they can only operate in mapped areas. Given that Waymo is a google company, they almost certainly started with street view data.

▲

modeless 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The difference is that it's useful for navigating the real world. You could have way better directions displays that show directions in context instead of just schematically. It would make the petabytes of imagery that has already been collected much more accessible and therefore useful, instead of being relegated to a special clunky Street View mode that is rarely visited. It would enable exploring real spaces in a way that provides much better spatial context, to build a spatial memory that helps your navigation when you get to the real place. And yes, it would be fun. At one time, Google was into that sort of thing.

▲

taeric 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I could see this as an argument for a heads up display. So, good for projecting directions onto a windshield or for having the glasses thing. But this? I don't see how a VR world helps anyone navigate the real world. That is, you seem to be saying the VR data is needed for AR usage. And I just don't see how those are helping each other too much.

I'm fully bought off on the "it would be fun" aspect. I don't see a value proposition for it, though.

▲

modeless 5 hours ago | parent [-]

A heads up display doesn't need a 3D rendering of the environment around it because the environment is already visible through the screen. The 3D rendering is so you can see what to expect before you get there. If you don't understand why that could possibly be useful then I don't know what to tell you; you'll have to take it for granted that some people's brains work differently than yours and can benefit from seeing places they are about to visit in 3D before they get there.

	▲	taeric 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Apologies, I meant my point to be that navigating a place is more helped with AR techniques than it is VR ones. Which, as you say here, is less helped by 3D rendering than it is other things. Indeed, I meant that to be my point. Do I think it could be useful if you rehearse navigating a place before getting there? Yeah. Ish. I can see obvious military style value adds for that. Average person, though? I still have a hard time seeing the value. Reminds me when places were offering video tours of places. Is a neat idea. But ridiculously low in actual value.

▲

int0x29 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Google maps has two different versions of this. One of them has a step by step series of street view images and the other does a full animated fly through of every street. The second one may be web only.

▲

encom 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Reading a map isn't that hard. It just sounds like an elaborate way to illustrate navigation with crayons. A cool product demo, but not very useful in practice.