The Technology behind the new underwater Google Street View

Street View is ideal for viewing destinations before arriving, but increasingly it is also used to take people places they may never be able to go in person. Richard Vevers and Earth underwater have partnered with Google to begin to create full 360 degree view of coral reefs needed to make them part of the Street view of the universe. Vevers explained during a session at Google I / O, "people do not appreciate what they can not experience. Coral reefs are disappearing and they need help. Through their sharing Street View we hope to generate interest and awareness, promoting their conservation. "In addition, the large volume  data that is collected for the project will also serve as the scientific basis for future studies of how reefs and other sensitive areas of the ocean floor are going.To check the complete data collection visit Google Street View Site 


As you might expect, underwater Street View requires some fancy technique. Because of the way they behave lenses underwater, the team needed to design a new camera rig. Using three very-wide-angle cameras equipped cameras Seaview current - dubbed SVII - capable of capturing left and right images that are merged into a 360-degree panorama, as well as a direct image down. The bottom image is used for compatibility with existing scientific databases, which are mainly composed of images taken by shooting down.