Google Street View’s massive database of images covers thousands of locations all over the world. Biking and walking routes have been added along with time estimations for both. But perhaps one of Google’s coolest additions is their latest. They have moved from taking images outside to taking them inside, and have just recently photographed the tallest building in the world allowing anyone to take a virtual tour of the Burj Khlifa, watch how the process works:
On February 8th, 2005, Google announced the release of their newest web application, Google Maps. What started as a simple online map program soon became a major tool for satellite imaging. Two years after the initial release, Google implemented a real-time traffic flow upgrade for 30 of the largest U.S. cities. In that same year, Google announced Street View, which allowed users to view major cities from the perspective of a vehicle driving down major streets. Today, these upgrades have been expanded and advanced.
The Burj Khalifa isn’t the only building Google has recorded. There is access to over 10,000 floor plans from all over the world. Google plans on photographing airports, museums, shopping malls, universities, and many other public places.
A view atop the spire, the tallest point on the Burj Khalifa
It’s truly amazing (albeit a bit concerning) that we can now see a satellite image of a place, zoom in on that location and view it from the street, and then go inside and tour the building itself all while sitting at the computer at home (explore the Burj here). Who knows, maybe in the next decade we will be able to visit the whole world without ever leaving the house.
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