We can see you

From 2D to 3D

Recently Google Street View appeared even in smaller capitals like Copenhagen. But how much had been included? I decided to start somewhere in central city, and here everything was now 3D. Then I followed the same route home through the map, as I would have done in real life. As I moved further away from the central areas, I kept wondering when I would encounter the flat map again; when would 3D shift back to 2D? But, it never did...

In the end I turned around a corner, and then: I was staring at my front door. I looked up, and there was my kitchen window. Ok, if Google had captured even my small and quite unknown street, then I guess they have photographed everything else as well.

Stop for a moment and wonder: who would have guessed, just a decade ago, that a searchengine would eventually visit every road, and photograph every house..?

And what will they do 10 years from now? One thing, that probably only takes a few years, is a further improvement: realtime maps.

From 3D to 4D

The present version is not real 3D, only a hybrid, interpolated from a lot of flat images. Furthermore, the maps are basically static. If you don't move, then nothing moves. I couldn't help notice this, as Googles photos were all from summer time, while I wandered their virtual map world in the midst of winter. This difference constantly disturbed the illusion; it was more like a past memory than an actual sensation. At least so far. But...

I predict that Goggle Street View eventually moves from 3D to 4D.

When that happens, you'll be able to walk around in your city, or any other city, and watch what happens right now. They only need to incorporate all public video cameras already existing out there. And there are really many, many more than you thought. Try search for the present number, and you'll be amazed. Then think about the future...

However, apart from the initial 'gosh wow' effect of this, won't it invade our privacy? Indeed it will, on a massive scale. But privacy doesn't seem to trouble Google too much...

It doesn't trouble any governments either. That leaves only one part:

Does it trouble you..?