Google to launch street view in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Citing Bangalore's status as the country's tech capital, Google announced on Thursday that it will begin imagery collection in the city for the Street View feature on Google Maps.Sharing their operational model, company officials said Google's cars and Trikes, a specially designed three-wheel pedicab with a camera system mounted on top, will begin driving and taking street-level photographs of public locations around the city.The images will be made available in the coming months in Street View on Google Maps. The company did not the reveal the exact day of the feature's launch.Stating that the maps technology was already available in 27 other countries, they said this allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images. They added that the product would be available on Google Maps for mobiles. Company officials said they would start gathering images from select locations in the area over the next few weeks.Speaking about their new venture, product head of the company, Vinay Goel said they had decided to start driving in Bangalore because it is the IT capital of India and feel that IT-savvy users will be able to leverage the benefits of the product to the fullest. He said Street View was also useful for urban development planners, law enforcement agencies, house hunters and travellers.Addressing concerns of security and privacy, he said the product will respect privacy and has developed highly sophisticated technology that blurs faces and number plates of vehicles.Goel said the product was designed to comply with local laws, including those of security and privacy.