Google’s Street View program is unlike anything else in how it captures the roads of the world, but even Google doesn’t have the resources to capture everything perfectly. Over the summer, the company announced plans for “Street View Ready” cameras to hit the market for users and businesses to create their own images for Maps, and recently, the first officially approved camera hit the market.
“Street View Ready” cameras have to meet Google’s requirements for quality before being approved, and the Insta360 Pro doesn’t lack in this area at all. The camera shoots in 8K resolution for its 360-degree video, but that comes at a price of a whopping $3,500.
The Insta360 Pro (via The Verge) is designed to fit into the “automotive” section of the program, meaning you’ll be using this camera by strapping it to the top of your vehicle. Once you’ve captured images from the camera, you can use the company’s stitcher app to get them ready to upload to Street View. From there, Google will review the content and potentially include it in Street View across various platforms.
Obviously, the high price tag here is going to turn off most people, but hardware like this will undoubtedly help Google improve its Street View program. Insta360 is even working with Google to offer 50 units through a loan program to help take advantage of this program. 3 other Street View Ready automotive cameras will be released (eventually), with plenty of other models being available for the various other parts of the program. More details on that will be available through Google’s Street View website. As for the Insta360 Pro, you can order that now through B&H Photo.
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