RIT Named a Finalist in Google Street View Contest
Winner becomes one of the first universities included in high-tech street mapping gallery
Voters have until Nov. 30 to help bring the Google Street View ‘trike’ to RIT.
Mapping the rapid transformation of the Rochester Institute of Technology campus is no small undertaking, so who better than Google to help bring those changes to life. The company has named RIT as a finalist to become one of the first universities to join its Street View Gallery.
Google’s Street View gives users a 360-degree street-level look at important landmarks and attractions across the United States. Its first use on a college campus featured a promotional campaign for the University of Pennsylvania. Now Google is looking to map the walkways and quadrangles of a different university.
As part of a contest sponsored by the company, RIT was selected among five universities to potentially be showcased using Street View technology. The other campuses are Arizona State University, Michigan State University, Stanford University and Princeton University.
Request for nominations in various categories, including colleges and universities, resulted in more than 25,000 submissions. Other notable landmarks under consideration for the contest include Alcatraz Island, Central Park, Faneuil Hall, Kennedy Space Center, National Mall, and the San Diego Zoo.
If selected, Google will send to RIT a tricycle, which tows a device the company says is “reminiscent of an ice cream cart” that has nine directional cameras mounted above it. It also includes a GPS unit for positioning and laser range scanners. The “trike” would then cruise around campus and snap photographs, providing a continuous stream of 360-degree images that are later organized to create Street View.
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