Google Maps’ ‘Street View’ feature returns to India, launched in these 10 cities

The Google Street View feature in Google Maps has finally launched after being denied permission for a full scale launch in India in 2016. The Street View feature allows users to view and navigate panoramic images of city streets. At a press meet in New Delhi, the company announced that it is bringing Street View to India in collaboration with Genesys and Tech Mahindra. The feature, with millions of 360-degree panoramic images, will be available for 10 Indian cities, initially covering 150,000 kilometers of roads. Google aims to expand this feature to 50 cities by the end of this year. Also, as part of the initiative, Tech Mahindra will deploy SUVs equipped with cameras for crowded places. The proposal to rollout Google Street View in the country was rejected by the government in 2016 citing security reasons.

Google launched its Street View service in 10 cities in India in partnership with Tech Mahindra and Genesys. The Street View feature on Google Maps covers 150,000 km in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar and Amritsar. cover the streets doing. The tech giant is bringing this feature to 50 Indian cities by the end of the year.

Data collection will be done by local partners. For this, the company will make Street View API available to local developers. India is the first country where Street View has been enabled primarily by partners. it new National Geospatial Policy Which was introduced in February 2021. This policy allows domestic companies to collect data and modern mapping technology.

The Street View feature can be accessed by zooming into a street in any city on Google Maps and tapping that area. It will feature local cafes, cultural centers etc. It is being said that it also provides surface temperature data with the help of Google Earth engine.

Google is not using any of its Street View vehicles for this work. Instead, the company will use the previous generation Mahindra Scorpio model in India.

Google Street View Camera, recently introduced at Google I/O, may also come to India (if it is ready by that time), says Stafford Marquardt, Google’s data operations product manager. He said, “We would love to bring Immersive View to India as well, but we haven’t decided anything (yet). Because it uses 3D data and aerial views, we will probably have to bring it to India sometime soon.” Some kind of partnership will have to be done.”

Google also announced its collaboration with local authorities to take road safety measures and reduce traffic congestion. To promote safe driving, Google Maps will display speed limit data shared by traffic authorities, starting with Bengaluru and Chandigarh. Google, in collaboration with Bengaluru Traffic Police, is working towards optimizing traffic light timings, with the aim of reducing waiting time, road congestion and carbon emissions at intersections. The company will also expand it to Kolkata and Hyderabad.

Google is partnering with traffic authorities and aggregators in eight cities – Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Agra – to provide information about road closures and incidents.

Additionally, the company is taking new initiatives in collaboration with domestic organizations aimed at reducing the carbon footprints of its users. The company recently piloted the Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), which uses public transportation activity data to help cities and local governments measure emissions.

Google is also associated with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to provide air quality information. on Google Maps app Layers>Air Quality This information can be accessed by visiting.