Google has updated its Street View and Maps apps on Android phones so that users can now contribute their own imagery to the services. In a blog post, Google Maps Street View product manager Stafford Marquardt laid out what the new update can allow users to do.
There’s no need for a car, or a fancy 360-degree camera setup. All you need is an Android device that is compatible with Google’s ARCore technology, which Google can use to rotate and position images correctly.
Google wants people to submit photos for places its Street View cars are unable to map, or places that are undergoing rapid change. “While our own Street View trekkers and cars have collected more than 170 billion images from 10 million miles around the planet, there are still many unmapped parts of the world,” said Marquandt. “That’s why for years we’ve been building new ways for people to contribute their own imagery to Google Maps.”
The tech giant’s connected photos beta is currently available for Android users with an ARCore-compatible device in Toronto, New York and Austin, as well as Nigeria, Indonesia and Costa Rica, with more locations to be added “soon”.
