Google’s Street View is a massively ambitious project. In future, maybe people will ask if all that driving around was such a good idea, but today’s invention makes use of the effort involved.
In many areas the imagery is updated every few months, but even a yearly refresh would be enough to allow automatic machine-based detection of the differences between two streetscenes over time.
This would allow eg planners to spot buildings erected or demolished without permission, as well as signs of gradual environmental damage which might be missed on the hectic timescale of urban life.
