Google’s Street View Batcave

Monday, 8th June 2009 by

Please note that some or all of the objects mentioned in this post are no longer visible on Google Earth or Google Maps.

For just one frame of Google's Street View for Charleston Road in Mountain View, we are given a completely unprecedented and unique glimpse inside the operation, as the camera is switched on inside the Street View Batcave.

Just like Batman's underground lair, this warehouse appears to be the base for the whole operation. Panning around, you'll find the dimly lit room1 is filled in every direction with dozens and dozens of fully loaded camera cars, some featuring the older camera-only mounts, and others with the newer 3D laser mounts.

Other than the camera cars, there are several other fascinating things to see here, including this setup up of 9 LCD monitors mounted around a couple of old car seats, which would act like a 3D VR room. Is this for checking cameras? Reviewing recorded material? Or live monitoring of the drivers' progress?

Also of note around the garage are some support vans, lots of bits of computer junk and, in an image captured immediately outside the building, several mysterious black vehicles.

Thanks to VGT.

  1. So dark that I've raised the brightness on these thumbnails to make them clearer. ↩︎

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James Turnbull develops websites, including this one.