Say cheese: Google’s new Street View cars are now rolling down Aussie streets

Most of us are dependent on GPS to navigate city streets throughout the world, and Google Maps ubiquity (and free price tag) have helped make it one of the more popular options. That does mean the internet giant needs to constantly update the navigation platform to ensure the information it presents is current.

With new developments on the rise around the country, Google Australia has today announced that a new fleet of eight Street View cars that use updated camera technology will take to the streets this week.

Image courtesy: Google Australia

Image courtesy: Google Australia

This is the first time in eight years that Google has updated the camera technology in its Street View cars, which the company says will allow the cars to capture “higher quality 360-degree imagery”.

According to a blog post on Google Australia’s site, the new “cutting-edge cameras fitted to our Street View cars will allow us to capture higher quality, sharper imagery and in low light conditions across Australia”.

Image courtesy: Google Australia

Image courtesy: Google Australia

The new mapping will begin in Sydney and Melbourne first, with the cars heading to other states in the coming months. The updated images will be available via Street View later in the year.

While Google Australia is keeping mum about where exactly the cars are headed, and when, you can follow the fleet's journey on the Google Maps Street View site.

Street View, available on Google Maps and Google Earth, has been offering users panoramic views along the streets of the world since 2007. It gives millions of travellers the opportunity to research places they're planning visit beforehand, or to just experience what a place is like – from street level – if they can’t get there in person.

Sharmishta Sarkar
Managing Editor (APAC)

Sharmishta is TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor and loves all things photography, something she discovered while chasing monkeys in the wilds of India (she studied to be a primatologist but has since left monkey business behind). While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, she's also an avid reader and has become a passionate proponent of ereaders, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about the convenience of these underrated devices. When she's not testing camera kits or the latest in e-paper tablets, she's discovering the joys and foibles of smart home gizmos. She's also the Australian Managing Editor of Digital Camera World and, if that wasn't enough, she contributes to T3 and Tom's Guide, while also working on two of Future's photography print magazines Down Under.