Google’s new Street View simplifies navigation

Daniel Filip, Computer Vision technical lead at Google Zürich, recently announced a new navigation feature on Google Street View whereby a user can double click on an image object to change the view to the object's location.

To enable this capability, Google researchers generated virtual building facades and roadway geometries using "laser landscape measurements and differences between consecutive pictures." A new cursor showing streets and building facades gives the user a navigation point and adds to the illusion of depth. Previously, Street View only allowed navigation among panoramic views using forward and backward arrows along the roads.