Chatting with a Google Street View Driver
Note: some details in this post have been skipped or generalized to be a bit vague to protect the identity of the Google Streeview driver.
Sometime in the past few weeks, I was walking with a friend when we spotted a very funny looking car. We both immediately knew what it was and as the car drove closer by, our suspicions were confirmed: it was a Google Streetview car outside London. Feeling naughty, I shouted at the car as it drove by something along the lines of "there are privacy laws" and to my surprise an old man across the streed did the same! It was very funny how both of us knew what a Streetview car looked like!
Then it hit me: the road we were on that the car was driving into was a dead end road. Picture time! So I dropped my stuff and asked my friend to watch them while I set up my phone and found a good spot to take some photos as the car drove back out again. So I watched as the car reached the end, did a U-turn and drove back out again. However, as it got close to me, the car pulled up into an empty parking spot and the driver came out. He shouted at me saying "I know you want to take pictures but I don't want to be in them." I obliged.
While taking the photos, I talked to the driver a little bit. Here are some details from the notes I scribbled afterwards:
- Google has a centre in Milton Keynes where this operation was based in. The drivers just showed up for "a driving job" (his words) and didn't know it was for Google until the arrived to pick up the cars.
- The drivers were given training to use the computers inside the car. It's not hard: it's a large-ish touch screen (I guessed about 17in or maybe a 19in when I saw it) with a record and a pause button.
- The screen is to the left of the driver in the passenger seat with a large server at the back in the trunk. The back seats of the car were removed - it was just a big space. The connections into the server were just power and ethernet. The ethernet seemed to be going up to the camera but I'm not sure if it ran to something else.
- The camera is rain sensitive. It collapses in a very funky way and has to be covered. The drivers are under strict instructions to do so.
- This particular driver was very sensitive to the privacy issues. He was having a personal conflict about the whole thing and was stopped by (his words) "10 people" that very day. Why? Because only recently had the BBC published an article about Google Streetview starting with Google's plans to launch a mapping tool in the UK could be referred to the Information Commissioner". No wonder the driver didn't want to be in the photo!
Now some photos of the car with notes:
The car from the front.
The car's camera. The hexagon Octagon at the top is I think is the camera set itself (so 6 8 cameras in total). The yellow box seems to be the communication/processing circuitry; the yellow box is on the back side of the car and so the white box thing at the right hand side of the image points towards the right of the car. This white box thing seems to swivel up and down but this is just a wild guess.
The car's camera kit as seen from the rear of the car. Just guessing what each bit is: Yello box at the top, as above. White boxes to the left and right are the (potentially) swiveling bits - could they be cameras? The yellow disk at the bottom: a wireless communications dish? It could be a GPS receiver.
Update: Looking through some of the other images I had after someone dropped a hint on GTalk to me, the white boxes under the hexagon of cameras are laser range finders. Sure enough, I have a photo that has a warning that it's a "Class 1 Laser".
Update 2: Thanks for all the comments. Yes I couldn't count: there are 8 cameras not 6; that's fixed now. Also, a lot of people wrote about the type of laser range finder and why you'd need it - see the comments below. Finally, lots of people noted a certain irony in the driver not wanting to be photographed. Point taken, but the guy was very conflicted about it. The BBC article was still in memory and clearly some people like me caused his some fuss on that day. He was talking a lot about wanting to quit this job. Deep down I think he did but of course I cannot know.
Update 3:Yes some rain droplets is visible in a photo. It wasn't raining while we were talking but it had rained earlier that day. When the driver parked, the camera hit some trees (you can see that in the photos) and the droplets are from the tree. It's hard rain that gets the equipment as I understand it, and that's when the drivers are supposed to cover up.
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July 29th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
> White boxes to the left and right are the (potentially) swiveling bits - could they be cameras?
Nope.
They’re German SiCK brand laser scanners - likely the LMS 200 series.
Details here:
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~kws23/tutorials/sick/sick.html
July 29th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I understand the driver’s hesitancy to be photographed, but I do find it funny in light of the fact that he was driving around what amounts to a giant camera himself.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
It seems to me that it is an octagon, not a hexagon. So there should be at least 8 cameras. “At least” - I’ve seen blue sky in Tour De France - there should be something looking up.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
very cool!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:33 am
The white boxes are SICK laser range finders.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Nice job with the pics! Interesting story. I bet they do get harassed a lot.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:49 am
It looks like an octagon to me. 8 sides.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Er, that thing on the top is an octogon–so 8 cameras…
July 30th, 2008 at 2:57 am
thanks for posting this up, always wanted to know what GOOGLE is up to.
Did you by anychance strike a pose while he drove past? :p
July 30th, 2008 at 3:06 am
The big yellow box below the cameras is the Topcon GPS unit (very accurate) and the smaller yellow device on the roof is the antenna for it.
The other black antenna on the roof is for finding publicly open and available WiFi hot spots.
It looks like there are plenty of water droplets on top of the car and that equipment could be and just might be damaged due to the moisture. There might also be a camera pointing directly up, but I’m not sure about this HiRes setup…
July 30th, 2008 at 3:14 am
The white boxes look like LIDAR scanners. They can measure the distance between the camera and the surroundings, presumably to enable them to create 3D imagery for Street View.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Wow, that is so cool. You do realize that Google will one day take over the entire world right? Its gonna happen you just wait and see.
JT
July 30th, 2008 at 3:19 am
I don’t see what the big deal is. In the UK you’ve got CCTV everywhere, the very last thing I would be complaining about is is Google Street View.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:23 am
The “White Things” are Laser Radars (LIDAR) made by the Sick company somewhere in euroland. Their information can be used to build a 3-D model of what the cameras are seeing. They have a range of about 30m. There is a spinning prisim in them that sweaps the laser beam through an arc. The way these are mounted, the laser sweaps vertically. They spit out a big stream of data. 500kbaud or so. The LIDARs get cranky when wet.
Yellow antenna is a high accuracy GPS antenna. Dumb mounting place because it is partially blocked by the camera rig.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:29 am
The white swively bits look like vertical scanning LIDAR scanners. These would be scanning a 3D model of the street as the car drives along. The flat yellow disk is probably a GPS antenna.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:40 am
if i were a driver id call everyone i know to come out and get their mug on google maps.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:52 am
Did he say why he was so concerned about privacy or why he didn’t want to be in the pictures?
July 30th, 2008 at 3:59 am
yep, I saw one driving around Baltimore.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:01 am
That’s cool. I’ve never seen a Google Street car. I wish I saw one. Did you ask how much the drivers get paid? Just wondering.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:07 am
The white box on the right in the first photo, with the vertical black strip on it is a laser scanning system. It’s used for 2D and 3D spacial mapping. it’s made by S.I.C.K. Optics. They produce laser systems for various purposes.
The reason i know about them is that they are also used for machine safeguarding, (google it). Pretty cool stuff. The sensitivity on some of those units is ridiculous.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:27 am
To find more about the lasers:
http://tinyurl.com/6p5qsw
July 30th, 2008 at 4:57 am
The white boxes are indeed SICK LMS-200 laser rangefinders.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Yeah I think those white boxes are LIDAR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIDAR).
July 30th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Since I can see three cameras, three faces of the shape of the camera housing, with the outer two oriented 90 degrees from each other, each about 45 degrees apart, I would guess from the image that the device is shaped like an octagon, not a hexagon. Is it shaped irregularly? Missing camera facets on the reverse angle, where the shown image would lead one to expect them, perhaps? Or is it just the low angle shot, making it look like it should have more faces than it does?
`___
/—\
—–
\___/
July 30th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Please Post More Pics!!!!!!!!
July 30th, 2008 at 6:59 am
my dad owns a autobody shop and they fixed the google maps car
July 30th, 2008 at 8:07 am
if they are under strict instructions to cover the camera in the rain, why is the roof wet in the last picture? it looks like its in the rain.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Jim Jones> You do realize that Google will one day take over the entire world right? Its gonna happen you just wait and see.
Not so fast my friend. I predict the second decade of this millenium will see a great Google-Tesco war, and following their crushing and bloody defeat of Denmark, Tesco are clearly a force to be reckoned with.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Big Brother is Watching YOU!
July 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am
[…] Citeste articolul in engleza […]
July 30th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I spotted one last night on the A650 in Bradford. Does anyone know where the cars were brought in from, as they are OPEL rather than VAUXHALL I suspect they were imported, possibly from Ireland were they have a big Google office?
July 30th, 2008 at 11:23 am
There MUST be a camera facing UP, otherwise they would place the GPS antenna on the top - obviously the best place for it and easier to fix than separately.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
The antenna seems to be TopCon PG-A1 - http://www.topconpositioning.com/products/gps/antennas/pg-a1.html
And the yellow box doesn’t seem to be any TopCon product, and looking at the number of cables that it takes it may be something custom.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
>jojoko Says: I don’t see what the big deal is. In the UK you’ve got CCTV everywhere, [snip]
The deal is that CCTV doesn’t work, except to violate people’s privacy and make it easier for the government to abuse their powers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/06/ukcrime1
July 30th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Hmmm..I wonder if this guy took these privacy invasion shots in France:
http://streetviewgallery.corank.com
July 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
If that cat doesnt want the job, I’ll take it and any fool that wants to run up to me and give any grief for trying to legally feed my faimly will get the suprise of a lifetime and my shoe in their backside.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Incredibly interesting, nice of the guy to give you that information. I’m sure Google wouldn’t be pleased since they’re really tight on giving out such information as they fear competitor services.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
How ironic! He’s taking pics of us on the street (I got one the other day in London*) without scrambling us out, but he doesn’t want to be in pics of his car on the net?
*or maybe it was just surveying.. sound measurements etc.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
@Alon
but it would be funny
A company can’t possibly take over the world
July 30th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
The story about google taking over the world is true, only the people who where once fotographed on google streets will be spared. Because The google recognizes these persons. As you might understand, my new life goal is to be in one of these google street images.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
the face of Big brother (or Google as we all know it)
July 30th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Zillions of CCTV cams there (producing an arrest rate of only 3%) & some of youse guys wetting yourselves over Google’s Sputnik? There falleth a nation.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
The laser rangefinders would have multiple purposes, to name a few: 1, to determine the angle of the vehicle WRT: road looking ahead and behind to help level the image. 2) to profile buildings and objects while driving. 3) to aid in an algorithm identifying people while driving to automatically remove them from streetview images.
Of all of these, #3 makes the most sense to google. The scanners are oriented such that they create a vertical fan and while the vehicle moves forward create a distance vs. height profile.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
It is so funny that google is trying to be the center of information of the world. They have google earth and now they have a car with 8 cameras roaming around the city to take pictures? What else can google do. I should wear my shirt while taking a bath. It seem so funny that google might take personal photos of me or other people.
Thank you
Charles
July 30th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I’ve seen you naked, Charles, and trust me, nobody’s interested in seeing you taking a bath. Don’t bother wearing the t-shirt but do wash behind your ears.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I don’t see it as much of a privacy problem (although, I do see and understand what people are concerned about). As I understand it google takes great care in making sure faces and license plates are removed from the final image. Again I understand the other side to this argument, but it just doesn’t bother me.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
The UK is the most surveilled society in the world. It’s almost certain that while you were taking pictures of the car you were on camera. Probably multiple cameras. If you live in London you’re filmed something like 500 times a day.
Why are you upset about Google taking one snap of you walking in the street? Anyone and his brother can set up video cameras and film you every time you leave your house? And Big Brother not only films you but reads your email and texts too (http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70888).
July 30th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I’m sorry, usually I stay on topic, but Albert, what’s up mate? You’ve seen another guy naked? Kind of homosexual. I mean, unless you swing that way, then that’s cool, but otherwise…..Great topic, guy! Loved the detail!
July 30th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
We recently had one here in Seattle, here’s a colleagues report with photos…
http://maxabee.com/streetview.html
July 30th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Look at that weld job!
July 30th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
You’re in trouble now…..Do you realize that Google now has pictures of YOU taking pictures of them?? And now you’ve put them on the Googlenet..I mean…internet.
Anyone actually know WHY Google is doing this?
July 31st, 2008 at 7:02 am
[…] - Chatting with a Google Street View Driver. […]
July 31st, 2008 at 8:01 am
Nick Spirov> There MUST be a camera facing UP
Of course there is. How else do you think they make Google Sky?? Pfff … Dumb ass.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I saw one of these near my college before!
July 31st, 2008 at 6:57 pm
since i am using socializer i feel like need to have feeds from here. Man, You got wonderful articles.. techy
July 31st, 2008 at 7:58 pm
If you’re a Google camera-car driver, you can be assured that your face will never be on the website. It is the ultimate way to assure your own privacy.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I personally have a big problem with Google doing this. I do not want to be on it and I do not want my vehicle or my property on it. This is fantastic for thieves especially car thieves. They can see vehicles and their number plates to clone. They can see vehicles to steal to order and they will know where they all are. I hope they get banned from doing this and I really cannot see any good reason for this information to be available to all.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:27 pm
This was a great read. I’m really glad that that Street View hasn’t been blocked and I’m looking forward to seeing it on Google Maps soon. I’ve found it very interesting looking at the US via Street View and it should be even more interesting looking at places I recognise! I know that the Google car definately has been in Manchester where I work.
Interesting however that in the article the driver metions lots of people saying their privacy is being invaded…yet the privacy watchdog says no one has complained!! Just shows that really people aren’t that bothered, they just like to cause a fuss.
I hope its coming to a screen near me soon!
August 1st, 2008 at 8:31 am
Here’s a photo of the upward-facing camera..
August 1st, 2008 at 8:32 am
Doh! - here’s the link http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/07/16/street_view_bristol_2.jpg
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 am
@John Lee: Is casing a neighbourhood via Google Street View any easier than doing the same in person? Criminals will do illegal things one way or another; this isn’t enabling anything they couldn’t otherwise do.
Also, just because a vehicle was in a particular place when the Street View car went by, doesn’t mean it’ll be there ever again.
I don’t get what the big deal is, especially in the surveillance state that is the UK.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
If the car was an Opel, it MUST have been left-hand-drive. Therefore the passenger seat was on the RIGHT, not the left.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I find interesting that the car is an Opel, the name that vauxhalls are sold under in the rest of Europe outside of the UK. I wonder where these cars came from, they relatively new to me
August 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
why is google doing this?
this is going to be linked with their other search databases:
ip addresses, websites, photos, maps, satellite images, terrain maps, gps, business listings, news feeds, telephone numbers & real-time feeds from webcams.
that will allow to type a name in google and get a full bio and location of a person or a full intro to a business.
This has HUGE potential for advertising, marketing as well as payments to include or exclude information.
Privacy is history of course
this will change the culture of the world
August 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Interesting analysis of the equipment. We followed one down I-25 near Castle Rock, Colorado
August 5th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Anyone who worries about this invading their privacy is an idiot. Are you going to stop ME from walking down the street with 8 cameras taking pictures and posting them on the internet? YOU CAN’T because it is perfectly legal even if I don’t blot out your faces and license plate numbers. So if is legal for me to do it… why can’t google?
August 6th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Jamie: I was surprised to read that Ireland has Opel not Vauxhall.
Surely an Opel sold in Ireland would be right-hand-drive?
August 6th, 2008 at 11:05 am
i find it comical that they have taken pics of Cairns, queensland, australia (where i live :D)…but not london. WEIRD! anyway, i live in a street thats hidden from everywhere else and it makes my proud to seee my house from the internet
(if that makes sense :S)
August 7th, 2008 at 12:29 am
[…] Chatting with a Google Street View Driver - eKstreme.com […]
August 7th, 2008 at 3:32 am
anyone who complains about it citing “privacy! privacy!” is a complete muppet.
It is from a public road, Have you ever in your life taken a photo in public at all? I guess all the photos you see in news papers of houses or business should also be removed because of a “breach of privacy”?
I suggest you put your tin foil hat on and get over it
Why does everyone in this country winge, and sook about everything?? God damn it, just shut the F up and enjoy it…..It’s like some of you are just waiting for something to pop up so you can get your 2 bobs in.
Do you force everyone who drives down your or your relatives street to not look at the house? Seriously, the weirdos come out of the closet when google is involved!
August 7th, 2008 at 3:47 am
and wow, your setups are a bit old… but then Australia did invent the whole google maps system, so our’s would be a little more ‘advanced’ - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfcat_aus/2735163886/in/pool-googlestreetviewcar
All of australia has been done already.
Google product manager Andrew Foster said that because the company’s mapping tool was based on technology developed in Australia, it was excited to bring Street View to the country.
“Google Maps has its origins as an Australian invention so we’re thrilled to bring Street View here as one of the first countries in the world,” he said.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
A Google Rep visited our school and talked about the security and privacy concerns they addressed with this. They have technology to blur faces and license plates. He told us on April Fools they used the same technology to add mustaches on all the employees in the Google Employee directory. I guess some people had pictures with their kids on their shoulders and it put a mustache on both of them.
I don’t know if that was mentioned earlier, but while there are privacy concerns - Google addresses some of them.
August 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Jamie Collins - I had an Opel, and it was right-hand drive. Not all Opel’s are left-hand drive.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:21 am
It’s normal that some people seem’s very serious regarding their privacy. I think this driver don’t want someone to know that he drive Google’s car. But this car look nice, indeed.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
Can anyone tell me where the cars have been spotted in the UK? Are they recording only the biggest cities in the UK or have they been spotted in villages? I guess it would take an enormous amount of cars to cover the whole of the UK!
August 26th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I have seen these driving round the City in London - I’m pretty sure I’m in one, thankfully my face will be blurred as I looked very confused! As far as the privacy things go - they’re blurring faces and numberplates. That means it’s LESS invasive than someone driving through the streets! Grow up, people
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Hi there,
I heard rumours about a kinematic 3d laser scanning solution being attached to the system, can anyone confirm this and which manufacturer it is also?
Regards,
Derek
September 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I’m on holiday in a tiny village in Scotland (its only got 1 road and about 4 houses) and a google car has driven down the road at least 3 times and it must be doing something as it was driving slowly and causing a lot of traffic to build up on a normally quiet road.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
there are 9 cameras on the rig! not just 8, the 9th camera faces upward, for a good view of high buildings/skyscrapers or in a region where there’s stuff high up…
the lasers (3) have a range of 50m and will make it possible to get a full 3D view of the footage @ a later point in google earth…
October 9th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
and i have no problem with what google is doing!
the law is very specific that EVERYONE has the right to make photos or video of public space, as long as the footage was taken from public roads, sidewalks or other public spaces…
if we take away that right we take the right from ALL OF US to be able to make photos where ever we want to… as long as it’s public space…
October 31st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I recently saw one of the camera cars in Gosport (near to portsmouth) so just a bit of an update really it had the same camera design as what you show above. Thanks for this post it helps us inquisitive people out here!
November 4th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
What cameras are they using? Judging the recent quality from France and the silhouette through the portal I think they are Iconix 3CCD 2k, but I can’t be certain, does anyone know for sure?
November 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Yes they are Iconix cameras - www.iconixvideo.com
That is a hell of alot of data to capture at once how do they store it and process it on such a small vehicle?
And how much power do they need to run all the kit on the roof and in the car????
Clever stuff!!!