Where will Google send its new Street View tricycles?

They might almost be men selling ice cream.

They ride around on tricycles, a big fridge-like box perched on the rear wheels, a brightly colored logo on its side.

And yet that 10-foot-tall mast between the rider and the box tells you that this isn't pistachio peddling. No, this is surveillance, Google-style.

Those nice people at Google Street View became frustrated that their cars couldn't access every single corner of the world. Indeed, earlier this year the company removed footage of one of its cars after it transgressed traffic regulations. Then there are those pesky pedestrian areas and fine places of historical interest that don't allow cars within their boundaries.

So what better way to obviate these obstacles than by sending in the trikes?

The tricycles will blur faces, but what will they stil capture and where?

(Credit: CC PSFlannery/Flickr)

According to the Associated Press, the freewheeling three-wheelers hold nine cameras, a GPS, a computer and a generator. And they are currently wandering around the center of Paris, having already done some historical surveillance in England and Italy.

A Google three-wheeling spokesperson, Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce, told the AP: "The idea is to be able to offer 360-degree images of places that were inaccessible before."

Google Street View is a schizophrenic enterprise. On the one hand, it's lovely to be able to see images of streets one is hoping to access (even if the recession has wiped out so many of the stores that existed when Google filmed).

However, there is still something slightly creepy about the intrusion of strange men, in or on vehicles, who just might capture your tender and private moments. Like vomiting, for example.

The tricycles are, according to Google, fitted with technology that automatically blurs license plates and faces, which does give one a slightly warmer feeling in one's more sensitive areas.

Yet one wonders just which historical landmarks might be in the tricycles' path.

Have they already drifted down the corridors of Britain's Houses of Parliament, innocently observing as Members of Parliament conducted private business with their personal assistants?

Might they have gone into some government buildings and villas in Italy and accidentally espied Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi giving sophisticated political tuition to the 18-year-old leaders of tomorrow?

You see, I know that those who become involved in passionate and occasionally illicit trysts do tend to use places of historic interest for their clandestine meetings.

And even though their faces might be blurred, their clothes and body types will be evident.

Who can forget the tale of the cheating husband, whose car was allegedly spotted by his wife on Street View?

Oh, what historical histrionics might still await those who observe Street View's latest and most enterprising footage?

[gerrrg]

Ah, private moments in front of the public's eye. Just when you think no one's watching, the british police are watching your every move, now indoors!<br /><br />Oh wait, you were talking about Google Street View.<br /><br />Nevermind.

[jaguar717]

Well not "private moments", but activities done in full public view by idiots who turn around and demand they not be held accountable. This is no different from a drunken college girl getting mad the next day because everyone remembers her making a fool of herself in the middle of the street the night before.<br /><br />As for Google vs. government, the major difference is that Google has no more power over me than I have over you. Omnipotent government, on the other hand, forcibly interacts with people. It does not and should not have the rights that private individuals do, because it does nothing but try to increase control over people who have no defense against it (as evidenced by England's descent into Orwellian peons, and our own Big Brotha's power grabs).

[SeizeCTRL]

if you are out in public where street view can see you, do you really have any privacy at that point? who is really to blame if Google catches you picking your nose in traffic ;)

[Hunnter2k3]

"Who can forget the tale of the cheating husband, whose car was allegedly spotted by his wife on Street View?"<br />His fault for cheating, he totally deserved the global shaming.<br /><br />I welcome these tricycles.<br />Pretty soon, people will be able to virtually walk around whole cities, opening a whole new world for those who can't afford to do the travelling.<br /><br /><br />One thing i wonder is why won't they do some of that Google Magic and remove entire bodies?<br />They are taking pictures of entire environments from different angles, and you can bet that most people are moving so you can see everything that was behind them, that seems pretty easy to remove. (from a graphics standpoint)<br />You could go even further and attempt to remove those who aren't moving by doing intelligent erase and repeat. (this is what the eye does for your blind spot)<br />You might be left with strange shadows in places, but with knowledge of all light sources (and where the body previously was) you should be able to turn up the brightness over the shadowed area.

[claudiamarie64]

doing something illegal." You can't exactly "continually" observe anyone with static photos taken months, and in some cases years, ago. And quit whining about the danger of being caught on Google film doing something that might shame you; the instances of this actually happening are extremely remote, considering that we can count on one, maybe two, hands the number of stories that have contributed toward Street View's notoriety. Amazing considering how many millions of pictures have been taken.<br /><br />I only WISH Google could photograph every corner of the world. Heck, they've fallen far short of photographing every corner in the United States, which has the most coverage of any country granted the Street View treatment.

[claudiamarie64]

For some reason, the first part of my comment didn't quite make it through the submission. It's just a definition of "surveillance": "continual observation of a person or group, especially one suspected of doing something illegal"

[EvanSei]

google street view has come in handy so many times for me that I don't really care being captured on camera and before you say "well you don't know what it is like" I do I was looking at a street view of my area and saw myself.

[mjconver]

I am not afraid. I would have it as a badge of honor to have my face on a Google street . As ephemeral as that may be...

[beckychr007]

Apologists for outfits like Google always want to point out that Google has a right to dispatch these surveillance tricycles and photograph and post anything that strikes their fancy that is done in public. No one is going to argue with that,<br /><br />The real issue is whether just because they have the capablility to do this should they actually do it.<br /><br /> Do the benefits of this service outweigh the creepy voyeurism of it? If this service does have such wonderful benefits that humankind can not live without it--should they really broadcast every single thing they capture-- like the puking guy.<br /><br />One commentator says it is no different than drunken college girls---those embarrassed by Google are asking for it. What a puritan punk!<br /><br /> In this New Age, must we always be on guard to watch our behavior because Big Brother, in the guise of a private corporation, might be watching?

[Hunnter2k3]

&gt;In this New Age, must we always be on guard to watch our behavior because Big Brother, in the guise of a private corporation, might be watching?<br />Why not?<br />Would you knowingly do something "bad" if you knew you were being watched?<br /><br />Despite that all those privacy nuts like to spread, some Big Brother tactics actually benefit society, even if it is on the verge of mental terrorism.<br />And for those screaming how terrible a person i am, guess what, laws as far back as society existed were created to instill fear in people, there is absolutely no difference here.<br />It will continue to happen as long as society has free thought and movement.<br /><br />Also, anyone who even cares what others think about them are automatically idiots anyway, they DO deserve it.

Couple this with something I saw on TED a few years ago where some dude created a software which used photos from Flicker to generate a 3D image of the Notre Dame, we could soon be doing virtual tours of anywhere and everywhere. Took a while, but I found the link. The video is a must see for techies. Dunno if there is an actual product out there...<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/speakers/blaise_aguera_y_arcas.html