Image via Sounds of Street View.
Something you may have thought but, up until now, could never truly realize is that Google Street View is darn cool with sound.
The Huffington Post's Suzy Strutner spotted the latest entertaining innovation that takes Google's Street View and adds one enticing layer.
As you will soon see, er hear, this may be the best yet.
Here is a Vimeo video from Amplifon explaining it newest toy, software that allows you to hear various locales around the world. It's called Sounds of Street View, and it's my new favorite thing:
Amplifon - Sounds of Street View from Amplifon UK on Vimeo.
As the website explains, the software uses, "latitude and longitude to 'place' a marker just like any Google Maps marker, but invisibly."
For the moment, there are three destinations Internet denizens can visit with just a click of a mouse. The initial spot that comes up is Place du Palais in Avignon, France. You can also give Hapuna Beach (Hawaii) and Balboa Park (Calif.) a try.
Next we would love to hear Las Vegas and the sound of shattered dreams and buffet digestion.
You can also add your own sounds to a respective location, downloading the "framework." Now I was going to add my own experience from Venice (Calif.) but the sounds of hipsters wearing beanies and slippers don't translate well to audio.
If you want to truly capture the sights and the sounds of your own travels, Sounds of Street View promises to offer an easy and somewhat intuitive way to embed sound: "The Sounds of Street View Framework gives developers with minimal coding experience the opportunity to create bespoke soundscape experiences with ease, through the completion of just 6 easy-to-follow steps."
The website continues, "The framework includes all of the calculations used to create the full 3-dimensional Sounds of Street View experience."
Taking just a brief virtual jaunt through the three destinations, we have to say we are completely sold.
Now the site warns that this entire experience is an "experimental technology," so there will be a few hiccups along the way. However, a wave of realization immediately hits you the second you throw on some headphones: This is awesome.
Until scientists invent transporter technology, this will soon be the closest we travel aficionados will get to being whisked away to an exotic city in an instant. The only thing missing might be the smell, which is a good thing when you consider some cities around the globe.
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