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The Google Street View car seems to have gotten in a bit of trouble over in Japan.

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You would think after what Apple went through with its Maps application which was released on iOS 6, they would try to copy Google a lot less considering how much everyone, even Apple themselves , hated the results. But it looks as though they may be following in Google’s footsteps as a new patent was filed by Apple showing something that looks a lot like Google Street View.

Apple’s “3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Imagery Navigation” was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently and it describes a user interface, which when combine with the iPhone or iPad’s sensors, will allow the user to navigate a panoramic image. Apple’s filing hints at possibly improving current technology which has users jumping to a panoramic “bubble” towards a given intersection to then pan within the bubble to view and move towards a location. Apple wants to improve on this experience by using a combination of data from their iOS device’s accelerometers, cameras, gyroscopes and additional sensors to “move” the user through a virtual street-level panoramic image.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Federal Agents Are No Match For Apple iMessage Encryption, Apple’s A7 Chip Could Be Built By TSMC Once Contract With Samsung Expires [Rumor],

Google Maps with street view has made its way to the Nintendo Wii U today as a free for a limited time download, which was previously only available in Japan last week.

The application is called Wii Street U and as we previously mentioned, the application will allow you to not only navigate through Google Maps as you would expect on your computer or mobile device, but you also use the Nintendo Wii U’s GamePad in order to view the location from street level with Google’s Street View feature. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Wii U January Sales Predicted At Nearly 55,000 Units, GameStick Pre-Orders Now Available For $79,

Because Google Street View is the all seeing eye of the universe, it has done wonderful things like go underwater, trek the Grand Canyon and… blessing us with an endless amount of laughter because of the ridiculous things Street View finds. This one might top it all though. A couple was found pants down (or I guess, underwear down) in a fitting room, presumably about to get freaky. More »

Ever wonder how Google can make such grandiose claims for the sheer amount of Street View imagery it collects? Here’s how. Google’s Masrur Odinaev has posted a snapshot of a central mapping car parking lot that shows dozens of the camera-equipped Subaru Imprezas amassed ahead of future runs. While it already represents more Street View cars in one place than anyone outside of Google would normally ever see, what’s most impressive is remembering that this addresses just a portion of the entire vehicle mix — aside from the local cars you don’t see in the photo, there are extra units worldwide providing street-level coverage alongside tricycles and underwater expeditions. Odinaev’s look reminds us just how much effort is needed to make Street View a common feature — and that there are are legions of Google staffers whose low-profile work goes a long way towards making our navigation easier.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Internet, Google

Visualized: Google Street View car fleet gets ready to conquer (and map) the world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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