One nonprofit that clears land mines, a UK-based organization named Halo, relies on Google Earth for aerial images of minefields. Three years ago, CNET sent a team to Angola to examine the role of technology in clearing land mines left behind from the country's decades-long civil war. Google's satellite images also have a do-gooder spin. To give people real-time directions, the app matches 'tens of billions' of Street View images to the data on your phone to show you where to walk. Live View uses your phone's camera to display arrows that tell you where to go.įor the feature to work, Google developed a new technology because the GPS in phones isn't precise enough. Live View is designed to solve the 'blue dot problem,' the familiar feeling of getting out of a subway station, looking down at the blue dot on the Maps app and spinning in circles to find your bearings. The tool uses augmented reality - overlaying digital graphics on top of real-world images - to spruce up walking directions on the app.

In touting its vast repository of mapping imagery, Google points to a feature called Live View. Google co-founder Larry Page wanted to create a 360-degree map of the world. But Google sold off the company three years later and got out of the satellite business. For example, a company could predict economic trends by, say, examining the containers in an oil facility from above. Sky Box also touted its ability to provide analytics and intelligence through aerial photography. In 2014, Google bought Sky Box, a high-resolution satellite imaging company that Google said would help keep the Maps app up to date. He said the company gets all of its satellite photographs from third-party providers.įor a while, though, Google had ambitious satellite plans. Russell stressed that Google's mapping imagery is from public places you'd see while standing in the street or flying overhead. Google has also faced scrutiny for reportedly handing over user location data to law enforcement and other federal agents looking for leads in investigations. Google faced blowback after the Associated Press reported last year that it tracked people's location even after they'd turned off location-sharing on their phones. The search giant's mapping features have drawn criticism in the past.

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