Just small manned planes for now. Key quote:
"Asked if Google had any plans to use unmanned aerial drones to gather photos for its 3D cityscapes, McClendon said it was an interesting question, but noted that drones were still being evaluated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“That’s a larger can of worms that we’re not going to get into here,” he said."
(via @drones)
Comments
They did John, but I also can't add a pre 2012 link... Chris was there first mind with his swimming pool expose.
Paul, I was very lucky to attend a Google mapping event last year in London, they explained for big users they would charge a small fee. A chap then stood up from the real estate world and told us about house porn. In the UK on a Sunday this particular site serves 2 million hits from mobile devices for people looking at houses they cannot afford. House Porn, so Google will make lots of money methinks from very small transactions. The gig was in the science museum and the snacks were amazing. I was wondering the entire time why on earth I was there!
The street view imagery, lidar data and gps info that Google collects might have other uses they find valuable: e.g. maybe it can be used to generate guidance info for autonomous vehicles.
One of the first things I did when I joined Google was to search the archives to see if they had used UAVs, and what for. Unfortunately I can't find a public source for info on Google's pre-2012 UAV use that I can link to.
I have often wondered how Google makes money on their incredibly expensive maps (street level views across the U.S. can't be cheap). When I use GoogleMaps, I don't see any advertising -- or do I? I didn't think so. However, after a search I came across this LINK which explains, at least a little, how they intend to make money. Basically, selling the rights to put your company logo over your location. I still don't see how they can afford what they do with regard to maps, e.g. expanding into even more 3D detail.
Here goes our drone mapping industry.
"we’re not going to get into here" Google makes the laws. They legalized autonomous cars in Nevada. That guy obviously didn't get the memo with his TPS report. Maybe it's time we had that little talk. In other news, the Goog cafeteria is serving chicken. It's not related to either airplanes or UAV's, but it's GOOGLE, PEOPLE!