U. competes for place on Google Street View

Bikes are not unusual around Princeton, but if enough Princetonians display school spirit in the next few weeks, an unfamiliar set of wheels — Google’s “trike” — may be giving virtual tours around campus.

Resembling a rickshaw, the vehicle is a camera affixed to a mounted tricycle that gathers continuous, 360-degree imagery of its surroundings. These images are then used in Street View, a setting in Google Maps that allows users to take a panoramic, virtual tour of popular locations, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Times Square.

Princeton is currently competing with Arizona State University, Michigan State University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Stanford to become the third college campus available in Street View.

The five campuses were chosen from 26,356 user-nominated locations, 44 percent of which were college campuses, Elaine Filadelfo ’07, one of two Princeton alumnae running the competition, explained.

“We looked through the list to see which locations were popular,” Filadelfo said. “We also looked for a little bit of diversity, and included campuses from different regions.”

The campuses of Penn and San Diego State University are already available in Street View, and Google plans to include an increasing number of campuses in the near future, Filadelfo noted.

Daniel Ratner, a senior mechanical engineer at Google and the creator of the trike, said on Google’s press site that his inspiration came from realizing the limits of automotive-based imaging systems.

“I began thinking about building a bicycle-based Street View system after realizing how many interesting places around the world aren’t accessible by car, but still would be great to include in Street View on Google Maps,” Ratner said. Princeton’s campus, with many pathways only accessible by golf carts and bikes, meets these criteria.

Filadelfo explained that whenever the trike films privately owned property, the Street View team works with the relevant administration or management to ensure that potential concerns are addressed.

“We have certainly checked in with the administration, and I think they are excited about this too,” she said.

To preserve privacy, the program blurs any recognizable faces and license plates photographed by the trike. Users can also ask that their images be removed from Street View.

The possibility of viewing Princeton’s campus online carries multiple benefits. For prospective students who do not have the opportunity to visit campus before coming to Princeton, the inclusion of the University groundsin Street View could be an important asset, international student Deul Lim ’13 said.

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She explained that students from foreign countries may not be able to visit colleges before deciding which one to attend. “It would have been really nice if I could see what it was like,” Lim said, adding, “The photos online were good, but 360-degree can always help.”

Filadelfo noted that Street View is helpful for new students trying to orient themselves, and that it offers a look at Princeton for those who may not be able to gauge the campus for themselves. It would be especially useful, she said, for “long-distance parents who may not be able to visit much but want to see what your residential college is like, or for alumni like me who want to reminisce or see what the renovated Butler [College] looks like.”

Users will be able to vote in the online poll until Nov. 30. Until that date, Filadelfo said she remains committed to bringing Street View to Princeton. “I have a little note on my Facebook page encouraging my friends to vote,” she said.