Google Earth, Street View

[Texasboater]

Hmmm, not convinced. Anyone who wanted to "clone" a red Micra could simply walk along a street or round a car park until he found one - they are not rare - , make a note of its registration mark and carry on from there.

 

If he (and surely such ne'er do wells must be hes) wished to do the same with a Morgan Aero or a Panhard Dyna, for example, he could be in for a long walk - but then I don't suppose that they show up on Street View very often either.

That would be a Pan head.......and Dyna's did not come with that motor....The earliest ones had a Shovel head.....So I suppose you are correct....That would be a rare beast indeed.

[luctor et emergo]

Yes, when street view first rolled out, a couple where pictured enjoying an intimate drink on a cafe terrace (that London I believe, Soho?). They complained and had their faces blurred, to avoid their respective partners finding out....

[MartinClark]

There is a Google camera car depot alongside the Bridgewater Canal. (The canal's behind the fence. Some of you may recognise the building in the background.)

 

You can have a mooch around by following this link.

 

You can even go inside the garage where there are a dozen or so more camera cars.

 

There is also the Google Trike, which they seem to have found a new use for....

Edited February 17, 2015 by MartinClark

[MHS]

I've always found street view very useful for a number of different reasons. Regularly use it if friends are joining us for a few days onboard, it allows you to find suitable spots to leave a car. Funny how that's often a pub car park, with the promise of a meal or two to the landlord.

[Tim Lewis]

Poters Row Cottages at Ellesmere Port museum are now on Street Scene!

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?layer=c&panoid=xynW518gyN7FnqLp5EXBUA&cbp=1,214.66736,,3.0,45.0&cbll=0,0&output=classic&dg=brw

 

Tim

[Wanderer Vagabond]

I think this blurring out of stuff tends to be a bit random anyway. Google Earth captured a set of photos of my boat going through Lock 57 on the K & A (October 2013). For two of the images as I approached the lock everything is visible, name, boat number, location name on side of boat (Braunston). In the last image as I entered the lock they have blurred the word Braunston on the back of the boat. Why? I don't know!!

[Peter X]

Google's software probably thought Braunston might be a car registration. The way it would be programmed is to search the picture for any combination of about the right number of letters and numbers of about the right font and size, bearing in mind that all sorts of combinations get used in the many countries they cover, so something which is all letters won't be ruled out. They wouldn't bother trying to recognise what is or is not a car, that's just unnecessary extra programming and/or processor time, and even nowadays the average two year old human is probably better at recognising objects from photos than a computer. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) existed in a simple form decades ago, capable of the easier job of reading characters carefully written into boxes on paper forms, and I'm sure they have good enough software by now to read a car number plate, it's been reported that the police use cameras on bridges over busy roads to spot vehicles of interest.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Google's software probably thought Braunston might be a car registration. The way it would be programmed is to search the picture for any combination of about the right number of letters and numbers of about the right font and size, bearing in mind that all sorts of combinations get used in the many countries they cover, so something which is all letters won't be ruled out. They wouldn't bother trying to recognise what is or is not a car, that's just unnecessary extra programming and/or processor time, and even nowadays the average two year old human is probably better at recognising objects from photos than a computer. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) existed in a simple form decades ago, capable of the easier job of reading characters carefully written into boxes on paper forms, and I'm sure they have good enough software by now to read a car number plate, it's been reported that the police use cameras on bridges over busy roads to spot vehicles of interest.

I should have gone back to check the images (that's what happens when you try to do it from memory!) Looking at the images again they have blurred out the boat name Rune visible in the first image, the boat number and Braunston are crystal clear in the second and third images (boat name now out of view) and then Braunston gets blurred out in the last image.

[NickF]

Probably because unscrupulous people clone number plates to avoid speeding fines and/or congestion charges.

 

I'm sure once they introduce speed cameras on the canals and a boating congestion charge for London, then cloning of boat registration numbers will begin to happen and Google will have to blank them out

Now that would save a few problems .. a congestion charge in London!

[craftycarper]

My Land Rover has been streetviewed at various locations, but never outside my house !!

so has mine and showing its full number plate as well, but I doubt many people would want to clone a forty year old series 3, in fact the only time anyone seems that keen on even getting in it,is when there's a foot of snow on the ground or flooding, and there modern vehicle does,nt like coming out to play, I did wonder weather the pressed tin number plates give off a different image on camera than the reflective plastic ones of modern cars but hey who cares really

[Biggles]

I would think its to do with a person / car or indeed any thing that moves being spotted in an area it should not have been, think for example a cheating partner or a person excluded from a certain area.. A boat would IMO qualify as a thing that moves and could therefore be where its either not expected to be or not supposed to be and should be anonmalised, whereas a house is pretty much going nowhere and therefore affords no anonymity.