Google Street View Is Coming To Thailand

[webfact]

Google Street View is Coming to Thailand

Richard Barrow

During a press conference this afternoon, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Google announced a partnership for “Promoting Thai Tourism through the use of Google Street View”. Street View in Google Maps lets you explore places through 360-degree street-level imagery, whether you’re looking at locations in your town or across the globe. With Street View, you can check out a restaurant before going there, find beautiful places around the world to visit on your next vacation, or check out neighborhoods when you’re looking to move. For Thailand, they are hoping that the street view pictures of tourist attractions will help boost tourism.

A fleet of specially equipped cars will soon be heading out onto the streets of Bangkok. The Google cars have 15 lenses taking 360 degrees of photos. It also has motion sensors to track its position, a hard drive to store data, a small computer running the system, and lasers to capture 3D data to determine distances within the Street View imagery. It normally takes at least a few months to process the collected images before they appear online. It is estimated that it could even take two to three years to have a comprehensive map of Thailand with street view coverage. More information and samples of street view can be found at google.co.th/streetview.

Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand press release and Twitter account of TAT Governor @IamSuraphon

-- thaitravelblogs.com 2011-09-01

Source: http://www.thaitravelblogs.com/2011/09/google-street-view-is-coming-to-thailand/

[SomTumTiger]

Awesome!

[hyperdimension]

I've tried the street view feature in Google maps for countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan and it looks great on a large monitor in full screen (I have a 40 inch monitor). It's the closest thing you can get on the internet to actually being there and walking around. Though, I hate how they blur the chests of females.

[Tokay]

Wonder how many times the BIB will stop them for tea money because their car is modified.

[Crossy]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

[DP25]

Hope they go down Walking Street at night

[Richard4849]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Too bad, but you don't have a choice. Google will not be trespassing on your private property, and it breaks no laws to take photographs in a public place.

[bkkjames]

The thing is they will show only those 'unseen' kind of places that everyone doesn't want to visit.

[richard_smith237]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

While I am only guessing, I suspect they will not cover all of residential Bangkok, unless your house is in the centre of town and fronts straight onto the main road I doubt they could get an image of it.

Your house is probably already up on Google Earth for millions to see should they wish to do so, albeit from above.

In a similar manner to which we can view any house we wish to from a satellite photo on google earth, no one will know a certain house is yours.

I'm sure they wont be publishing information regarding who lives where. It might have advantages for business owners who may pay a premium to have their location and information listed in their site (thats how I see this working anyway)....

[tw25rw]

There is already mapjack.com which has Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai etc, but no Bangkok.

[dantilley]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

How would anyone link a street-view picture to you personally? They won't be publishing names of people in each house, I presume. Your home address will almost certainly exist on Google Maps and Google Earth already, so this street view development isn't any more "splashed over the internet" than the current situation. And, as someone else already pointed out, anyone can zoom in and see the roof of your house already through Google Earth, but unless they know you personally and know where you live, they'll have no idea it's your house they're looking at.

[Hurricane51]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

When I worked for the City of Las Vegas, our GIS department published interactive maps on the Internet that could break down the view into parcel numbers for tax purposes, water assessment, owner, etc. All public information available to anyone with a way to get on the Internet. Our aerial photos were much more detailed than Google's but the highest magnifications were for internal user only.

"Privacy" is an obsolete term.

[daviddrinkell]

I've used Streetview on Google Earth and Google Maps in the UK. It's really good for house hunting or for locating hard to find addresses and familiarising yourself with unfamiliar areas before going to them.

[Phil Conners]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Too bad, but you don't have a choice. Google will not be trespassing on your private property, and it breaks no laws to take photographs in a public place.

Not that it bothers me, but several European courts have fined Google serious $$$ for breaking privacy laws with this.

[Sateev]

Quick everybody, time to password-protect your WiFi routers...

[GTV]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Google can only show what anyone can see as they walk past your house. They will hardly invade your privacy.

[Interman]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Too bad, but you don't have a choice. Google will not be trespassing on your private property, and it breaks no laws to take photographs in a public place.

Not that it bothers me, but several European courts have fined Google serious $$$ for breaking privacy laws with this.

CIA front ???? I think so !!!

What the hell do they need a pic of my house for in buttf**k no where ?? Check out this link. very interesting indeed.

http://www.infowars....are-cia-fronts/

Edited September 1, 2011 by Interman

[tw25rw]

I've seen similar technology in movie form as well. I'm surprised it's not more popular.

[Miami Bob]

US/UK style big brother spy tech coming to your local neighborhood in Thailand. What will this also be used for in the future if not now.

[RickBradford]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Too bad, but you don't have a choice. Google will not be trespassing on your private property, and it breaks no laws to take photographs in a public place.

Really?

Maybe not in Thailand, but in the UK you can be harassed and/or detained for photographing wind farms in Yorkshire, railway stations in Crewe or art galleries in London, etc etc

And try taking photographs at a Greek airshow.

[RAM8]

Excellent!

Until now all I've had is Pattaya photo guide.

[ginjag]

Awesome!

TAT right in the forefront again with a spending spree, money no object, you will be able to see the Lanterns, OTOP shops, all the scams, promoting MIRACLE Thailand. How much for each car ???? and the persons driving and back up teams ???? YAWN.......

[MaxYakov]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

I wonder too, but not too much. Are your qualms because you have a 3-meter version of your avatar painted on the street-side or is it just a 'Global Moderators' group thing? BTW, shouldn't that be 'Bull-powered'? Just asking ...

[Caliguy]

Hahahahahha. Privacy.

[Richard4849]

I wonder how Thai privacy laws will interpret this.

I for one do not want my private abode with detailed location information splashed all over the internet without my permission.

Too bad, but you don't have a choice. Google will not be trespassing on your private property, and it breaks no laws to take photographs in a public place.

Really?

Maybe not in Thailand, but in the UK you can be harassed and/or detained for photographing wind farms in Yorkshire, railway stations in Crewe or art galleries in London, etc etc

And try taking photographs at a Greek airshow.

Wonderful, but we're not talking about any of those countries, nor are we talking about silly wind farms.

[kjhbigv]

There was a classic story in the UK when they were doing the same thing....."Horse Man" was captured and no-one really found out why!

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=16+hardgate+aberdeen+scotland&hl=en&ll=57.129217,-2.115276&spn=0.00315,0.010568&sll=57.129365,-2.115159&layer=c&cbp=13,196.24,,2,1.58&cbll=57.129594,-2.114932&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=vIekmFMsTx3KsW6UThZYqQ

[jvs]

You can not see faces,housenumbers or licence plates look at this site to see an example what it is like in Holland. www.straatblik.nl

[MaxYakov]

There was a classic story in the UK when they were doing the same thing....."Horse Man" was captured and no-one really found out why!

http://maps.google.c...sTx3KsW6UThZYqQ

Could it be someone was 'horsing around'? Could it be simply because it's Scotland? Or could it be that someone was out looking for a little 'tail' (to go with the 'head', of course)?

[PoorSucker]

Excellent!

Until now all I've had is Pattaya photo guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS7hZhO0ee8

[MaxYakov]

You can not see faces,housenumbers or licence plates look at this site to see an example what it is like in Holland. www.straatblik.nl

I looked at the site and got pulled over by a Dutch cop for slewing too rapidly. Got only a warning, though. What do you have for Amsterdam?