Google updates View community to allow users to create their own Street Views

Google has updated its Google Maps service with a new feature that allows users to build their own Street View map of a location, by using Android photo sphere or a DSLR.

As per Google, users can now take the help of a new feature in Views community to connect their photo spheres to create a 360 degree virtual tour of a place and share them on Google Maps. Much like the Street View, users can embed the interactive viewer on their website or create apps with it using the Google Maps API.

Google has also detailed the process for building personalized street view maps. Start by creating a photo sphere using an Android smartphone or a DSLR, and sharing it on Views; next users need to select the photo spheres from their profiles and use the Google's new feature or tool to connect (pictured above) them together, Google calls the 360 degree views as constellations. Once the photo spheres are connected and published, users can navigate between them on Google Maps, just like one can do in Street View.

Google Maps & Photo Sphere, Product Manager Evan Rapoport said on the Google Maps blog post, "We are excited to see the different types of Street View experiences that everyone will contribute. For example, this feature can now enable environmental non-profits to document and promote the beautiful places they strive to protect. It also opens up a new tool for photographers to showcase diversity in a specific location -- by times of day, weather conditions or cultural events -- in a way that Street View currently doesn't cover."

Earlier, Google Maps was updated with new features and tools based on feedback from its users, namely: directions for multiple destinations; displaying relevant itinerary data within maps itself, and, displaying upcoming events data for venues.