Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
eWEEK.com
Search
eWEEK.com
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud

    Google Updates Street View With Better Rendering, Mobile Support

    By
    JAIKUMAR VIJAYAN
    -
    August 18, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Google Street View

      Users of Google Street View soon will see substantial improvements in the quality of the panoramic images that are viewable via the application.

      Google has rolled out a new Street View renderer for the JavaScript API in Google Maps that the company says addresses several shortcomings in the old renderer such as jerky transitions and image stuttering when new content is loading.

      Mobile users of Street View will see the most noticeable improvements, thanks to the use of WebGL in the new renderer, Google Maps product manager Elena Kelareva wrote on the company’s Geo Developers Blog.

      WebGL enables rendering of 3D graphics in certain browsers without the need for any additional software plug-ins.

      The technology allows for a better frame rate and better rendering overall on mobile devices, Kelareva said. For example, with the old renderer, images would be rendered as a fish-eye projection on mobile devices. The WebGL support in the new renderer enables images to be presented as they look in reality, she said.

      Mobile device users will now also be able to interact with Street View via touch in the same manner that they have been able to with the Google Maps application for Android. For instance, instead of having to use “plus” or “minus” buttons to zoom or to click arrows to change their point of view, mobile device users can pinch to zoom in on something and double-tap to change their perspective.

      Support for a device orientation feature in the new renderer will allow mobile device users to look around in Street View simply by moving their device. Developers using the Google Maps JavaScript API will have the ability to turn the motion-tracking feature off if they choose to do so.

      The new renderer also offers improvements for desktop users. For instance, users of desktop systems equipped with a trackpad or mouse will now see a small “X” marking the next cursor location for moving forward. Similarly, rectangles on buildings and other structures will indicate the direction in which the camera will point toward, if a user chooses to look around.

      The new renderer also allows for cleaner display of street names and labels by separating them from the directional controls in Street View, Kelareva said. Other improvements include smoother transitions, smoother loading animations and better object modeling, she added.

      For example, tall buildings and other vertical structures that used to be rendered with wavy lines in the old renderer will now appear with crisp, straight lines, according to Google. Similarly, the new renderer uses lower-resolution images while loading, so users get smoother animation when an image is rotated in Street View. Transitions from one point to another in Street View will also appear a lot smoother because of the use of more animation frames between transitions.

      Google launched Street View as an add-on feature to Maps in 2007. It allows people to get a street-level view of their surroundings and of locations around the world. Initially, the feature was available only in a handful of cities. But over the years, Google has enabled Street Views in countries in all seven continents.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      EWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      ZEUS KERRAVALA - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      WAYNE RASH - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Info

      © 2020 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×