Matterport to Google Street View: Sept 2017?4614
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 WGAN ForumFounder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
Video: Matterport Video published 9 May 2017. (Sounds like it is ready now: it's not (nor is there a date reference in the official video description.  Hi All, While Matterport announced Matterport to Google Street View publishing "Starting this summer" [2017] at the 2017 Google Street View Summit (Matterport Press Release), I imagine that it will be September 2017 before Matterport to Google Street View is available to all. While Matterport is seeking Matterport to Google Street Beta Testers – I believe that Matterport will not make Matterport to Google Street View publishing publicly available until September 2017. (Matterport presentation | Matterport interview) And while Matterport's history of announcing delivery dates - and missing by as much as nearly a year in some cases, in this instance, I believe the delay will be caused by Google. Matterport to Google Street View publishing is dependent on the Google Street View API: currently in Beta. While Google is making reasonable effort to have its API exit beta testing by the end of Summer, I believe they will miss either because of something unexpected or features that Camera companies are requesting or simply debugging. At the 2017 Google Street View Summit in Tokyo, I asked [11:04 in video below) the Google Team if Cameras could still launch with the API in Beta - and while the answer was "yes" there was a lot of discussion by the panelists that the API is extremely ambitious and that Google is doing its best to exit beta, my impression is that companies like Matterport do not want to have its customers have a bad experience. While it's possible that Matterport could make Matterport to Google Street View Beta open to all Matterport Camera owners to release it as promised - "Summer 2017" - I would be surprised. Additionally, at the 2017 Google Street View Summit, I spoke with multiple developers using the Google Street View Beta API that said things like: ✓ It says Published, but it takes two days to show up ✓ There is no confirmation email sent by Google when the Street View is published ✓ The API seems buggy ✓ Publishing may - or may not - be successful As Thomas J. Peters said in his book, In Search of Excellence, innovation is a messy process. In the scheme of things a month or three is not going to make a difference in mapping the world of outdoor and indoor public spaces. That said, I will be managing clients' expectations - and in most cases - not even mentioning Matterport to Google Street View until it is public and working. I could imagine that the Matterport tech team said, 4Q17. And, the Matterport Marketing Team said, "Summer 2017" and we MUST announce at the 2017 Google Streeet View Summit. I wouldn't be surprised if Matterport changed its website references to "coming soon" instead of Summer 2017. For clarity, this delay will be as a result of Google: not Matterport. And about predictions, I predicted that Matterport would announce: ✓ Virtual Reality at Inman Connect New York City 2017 (which it did) ✓ Matterport to Google Street View Publishing at the 2017 Google Street View Summit in Tokyo (which it did). When do you think Matterport to Google Street View publishing will be available to all Matterport Pros? Are you telling your clients that Matterport to Google Street View is "coming soon" or not telling them at all? Best, Dan --- Video: Google Team Members Charles Armstrong (left), Stafford Marquardt and Jackie Lai field questions about Google Street View at the 2017 Google Street View Summit in Tokyo (10-11 May 2017). At 11:04 (through (15:45) I ask if Google Ready cameras can still launch with the Google Street view API still in Beta? Answer: cameras will launch between late-June and early September 2017. Cameras can launch even while the Google Street View API is in Beta. The API is extremely ambitious. We're doing our best ... |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by @justinv Great find  Based on my post two months ago (above), I imagine that Matterport will not launch until September 2017. Since all the Matterport marketing materials said "Summer 2017" - and it is now Summer - Matterport likely decided to remove the hype until publishing to Google Street View is available. Best, Dan |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The GSV Publish API is now public. https://developers.google.com/streetview/publish/ There are basically 9 different commands: https://developers.google.com/streetview/publish/reference/rest/ [Basically] The way that it works is that panos that contain metadata are uploaded to Google. https://developers.google.com/streetview/publish/reference/rest/v1/photo#Photo The most important fields are 'pose' and 'connections'. 'Altitude' was recently added - which allows support for multiple floors along with the 'level' (number and 3 character description) { "latLngPair": { object(LatLng) }, "altitude": number, "heading": number, "pitch": number, "roll": number, "level": { object(Level) }, } -- This is all there is to the GSV Street View Publish API. It's actually VERY VERY simple. Basically, it's an image upload API. ----- To address a few things Dan stated above about the nature of the API during the beta period: ✓ It says Published, but it takes two days to show up The API can check to see publishing status on a pano by pano basis. ✓ There is no confirmation email sent by Google when the Street View is published That's ok, because the platform that publishes to GSV can monitor the uploads and make API calls to check the status on a periodic basis. When it's done, an e-mail can be sent. ✓ The API seems buggy That's what I've heard - but in practice, in using GoThru, it seems to me that people are having quite a bit of success now. ✓ Publishing may - or may not - be successful That would be annoying, but again, the API can check the status of publishing on a pano by pano basis. -- this opens up all sorts of possibilities, like pushing the files again that aren't showing up, etc. --- You know what the GSV Api lacks? "seeInsideImage"  -- I want to make something very clear -- while the API itself is simple -- creating a robust platform that takes full advantage of its features -is not-. There are an awful lot of tools and features that one must provide users with in order for them to create a tour that has everything correctly positioned, aligned and associated with a Google Place ID. GoThru.co has done an admirable job with this. Consider too that GoThru also has to maintain hosting for all of the panos and has to provide it's own platform for testing tours before upload -- so it's doing double duty on so many levels. Concerning Matterport - all tours already have all of the necessary information. Pose/Pitch/Connections, etc. In comparison to GoThru, what they need to do is not as extensive. Thus to make Matterport GSV, they would need to: #1) Write code to convert the metrics/info from a Matterport Tour into data that makes sense to Google. #2) Setup a UI for positioning the tour correctly on a map. #3) Create a system to create equirectangular panospheres with the necessary metadata from the 2k/4k cubesets when people pay for GSV Publishing. (1k panos are automatically generated for no real reason that I can ascertain) #4) Create a system that monitors the upload, checks each pano periodically, then sends a success e-mail and updates Matterport Cloud with the time that publishing completed. I am over simplifying a bit, but that's basically the gist of it. |
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justinv private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @DanSmigrod That might be too soon! |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I wanted to add to my list of what Matterport needs to do to make their editor with one more thing -- Their system needs to allow people to turn on/off connections to optimize the tour. They've already done something similar in Workshop with the VR Mode -- it's not really a big deal. |
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fullpreview private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Unfortunately, the Street View Beta has now been delayed. ... ✓ Matterport to Google Street View Delayed ... I was really looking forward to this, but the new target is Winter. |
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