Street View had its origins in 2001 with The Stanford CityBlock Project, a Google-sponsored Stanford University research project. The project ended in June 2006, and its technology was folded into StreetView.[1]
2007: Launched on 25 May in the United States using Immersive Media technology.
2008: In May Google announces that it was testing face-blurring technology on its photos of the busy streets of Manhattan.[2] The technology uses a computer algorithm to search Google's image database for faces and blurs them.[3] Street View integrated into Google Earth 4.3, the Maps application on the Apple iPhone, and the Maps application for S60 3rd Edition. In November "pegman" is introduced. If this is dropped on the map the Street View opens and takes over the whole map window.
2009: Introduction of full-screen option. Smart Navigation introduced allowing users to navigate around the panoramas by double-clicking with their cursor on any place or object they want to see.[4]
2010: Indoor views of businesses available.[5] Google invites users to contribute panoramas of their own using gadgets with Android 4.2. Google highlights user-contributed panoramas with blue circle icons on Maps. The company also created a website to highlight places in the world where one can find them.[6]
2013: Business interior views are shown as small orange circles. Businesses such as shops, cafés and other premises can pay a photographer to take panoramic images of the interior of their premises which are then included in Street View.[7] Google sets up program to let third parties borrow the Street View Trekker (a backpack mounted camera) and contribute imagery to Google Maps.[8]
2014: Street-level imagery from the past can now be seen, if available for a given street view.[9]
2015: A partnership was announced between Street View and the environmental monitoring company Aclima. Cars began carrying sensors to detect pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter.[10] In October, support for Google Cardboard was announced allowing users to explore street view in 360 degree virtual reality