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Google eyes up Inishowen
30.09.09
Peninsula photographed
for high-resolution online map
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent
A CAR with electrical equipment on the roof
travelling around the towns of Inishowen isn’t the
most unusual of sites, but this time it’s not a
politician on the campaign trail but rather internet
giant Google. The firm are taking street-level
images of Inishowen for their upcoming Street View
online map of Ireland.
Bridge Street, St Mary’s Road and Quay Street are
just some of the well-known Inishowen thoroughfares
that have been captured in high resolution by the
‘Googlemobile’ in recent weeks.
When it launches surfers will be able to log on to
Google Maps and take a ‘virtual tour’ of Inishowen’s
towns and villages, just at they would major cities
of the world like Paris and New York.
To date, only central Belfast is available online on
Street View, but that is about to change according
to Céline Crawford of Google Ireland. |
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“We starting collecting
images in the Republic of Ireland in March this
year. I can’t confirm when Street View will be
launched in Ireland as gathering the images depends
on many things including the Irish weather. But the
cars began with the major cities of Dublin, Cork,
Limerick, Galway and Waterford and are |
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rolling out from there,” she said.
Street View, a feature of Google Maps and Google
Earth, allows users to virtually explore and
navigate a neighbourhoods through panoramic
street-level images.
Street View has a variety of practical uses. Users
can preview holiday accommodation, help to find
restaurants or a place to meet friends and also by
looking up driving directions.
When it first launched in the US, Street View caused
controversy and Google were accused invading privacy
by showing licence plates and images of children.
Ms Crawford insists that the lessons have been
learned.
“It’s important for readers to know that Street View
only features photographs taken on public property
and the imagery is no different from what a person
can readily see or capture walking down the street.
“Imagery of this kind is available in a wide variety
of formats for cities all around the world. We are
committed to respecting local laws and norms in each
country in which we launch Street View.
“Blurring technology and operational controls like
image removal are amongst the ways in which we
ensure that an individuals’ privacy is respected. We
make it easy for people to ask to have photographs
of themselves, their children, their cars or their
houses completely removed from the product, even
where the images have already been blurred.” |
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