Since 2011, Google Maps Street View has failed to establish a presence in India and put some of its capabilities into practice; that is, until today. Google Maps is providing 360-degree panoramic views to 10 Indian cities with assistance from some local organizations, and more cities will get them in the following two years.
Inherently, Google Maps must gather a lot of information. Of fact, a lot of governments and organizations have sensitive feelings about data. Due to the fact that Google Maps isn’t a firm located in India, it hasn’t been able to extend its capabilities to residents of that country. Due to the privacy restrictions in force, features like Street View, panoramic photos, and many other types of images were impossible to create.
The National Geospatial Policy, which India announced last year, creates a fresh opportunity to gather this data without jeopardizing security or crossing borders. Local businesses and groups are now able to gather information for Google Maps thanks to this new policy.
Google Maps Street View is beginning to collect information for 360-degree panoramic images in 10 Indian cities and will eventually extend its coverage to 50 Indian cities by the end of 2022. With hundreds of thousands of kilometers to travel, this is an enormous undertaking. The millions of miles that Google has previously mapped will increase as a result.
According to IndianExpress , Miriam Karthika Daniel, VP of Google Maps Experiences, stated that these regional groups have the resources and expertise required to gather the information required to assist expand Google Maps Street View into areas where it hasn’t yet gone in India. She also mentioned that the guideline makes it very clear which information local bodies are permitted to gather, which gives them a solid sense of where to begin gathering pictures for Google Maps.
Indian companies filled the need for navigation services after Google Maps was prohibited from operating there. Wonobo and MapMyIndia were able to play a significant part in providing the services that Google Maps was unable to.
Having said that, Google plans to produce more than simply 360-degree panoramas. Both residents and visitors might benefit greatly from resources like traffic data and company pages. Remember that Google Maps and Street View can offer a network of helpful information to shoppers, tourists, and even locals who have lived there for years. The service is not just about pictures of buildings and locations. By employing street photographs taken by local partners, which can provide greater details than satellite views, this extension will also give viewers significant insight into traffic conditions in the area.
All things considered, the new Geospatial Policy unveiled in 2021 will probably open the way for Google Maps to make all of its practical capabilities available to users in the initial 10 cities and beyond. Additionally, the regional businesses who are collecting the data and photographs are the only owners of both. Without them, Google Maps couldn’t make this significant advancement.
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