Street View Training Video

Welcome aboard. You are now part of the Google Maps Street View team. Street View provides users with a virtual driving experience that can help them identify key landmarks to keep them from getting lost. Street View also allows users to explore new places before making a decision where to physically go, whether for business, vacation, or a grand adventure to explore the world. Since Since 2007, Street View has been present in over 60 countries, and the list continues to grow. Together, we are mapping the world, and you are invited to play a significant role. First, some introductions are in order. Introducing your mobile high-tech office. You'll become very familiar with your Street View vehicle. Perhaps even name it, and work with your operations lead to maintain it and all associated devices with care. On top of the vehicle is the R7 camera, equipped with 15 lenses. Below the camera are lasers 1, 2, and 3. These gather spatial data to give images depth. On the roof of the car are 2 GPS units, which help pinpoint the vehicle's location. The KIA, on the backside of the mast, serves as an information relay station for the camera, lasers, and GPS units. The information is relayed into the vehicle through these cables. The support structure on the vehicle includes 2 support arms, 2 clamps, and 1 shear pin, all of which are attached to the Thule rack mount. Maintaining the structural integrity is critical with so much equipment riding above. Finally, never open the back passenger door or roll down the window where these tubes enter. This can be extremely harmful to the equipment. Now let's take a look inside. Inside the vehicle, you will find the rest of the components that make Street View tick. The computer, also known as the G-Box, is what runs the entire system. This is where you will insert a fresh hard drive for Street View collects. On the passenger side, you will also find the Kia controller, circuit breaker, and monitor inverter. These must be powered on in sequence to turn on the system. The monitor and keyboard are what you will use to log into the system and track your progress. Along with the vehicle and parts of the mapping system, you will be issued some essential supplies. First, a current drying tube and spare drying tube should be kept behind the passenger seat. The drying tubes and coiled surgical tubing are used to keep moisture out of the camera. A fresh drying tube should be completely blue. Over time, the pebbles turn purple. Once it reaches 50% purple or more, replace the tube. Request more drying tubes when you have only one unused tube remaining. Next, plenty of lens wipes should be available for cleaning the camera lenses and lasers. Which should be cleaned twice a day. Request more lens wipes when you have less than half a box. Hard drives come in a box of 5 and should contain return shipping documents to return the drives for processing ASAP upon use of all 5. Keep 2 full boxes of hard drives in the vehicle while mapping. Keep any excess boxes or unused drives safe at home. The company-issued phone will be used to take photos, send emails, submit Google Forms, and make calls to your operations lead or staffing representative. You can also check weather or get directions. Your charger can be used at home or in the vehicle. You must keep your phone on during work hours and only use your phone for work purposes. Last but not least, you will be issued a fleet card for fuel. All costs except daily fuel expenses must be approved by your operations lead before using the card. Proper stewardship of your fleet card, along with all other supplies and equipment, is expected. Failure to handle Google's resources accordingly will very likely affect your assignment. All resources should be handled for work purposes only. Now that we've seen all the tools, let's explore how to use them. Welcome to your first day of mapping. Good morning. Good morning. Your first task every morning will be to assess the weather. Bad mapping weather includes cloudy conditions with little to no blue in the sky, cloud cover greater than 50%, or conditions with even the smallest amount of precipitation. Good mapping weather includes clear and sunny conditions with lots of blue in the sky and less than 50% cloud coverage. Unfortunately, the weather isn't cooperating today, so we won't be able to map. Your second daily task will be to email your beginning of day report, or BOD, to your operations lead. Use your cell phone to send the message. Title your message BOD and include the date. For today, let's write, "Good morning! I am down due to rain all day. Maybe today is a good day for an oil change?" Periodically check your phone for your operations lead's response. Bad weather days are optimal for getting needed maintenance performed. The oil will need to be changed every 5,000 miles. Yet, Operation Lead approval must be obtained first. We have approval! Make sure the camera is down and covered. Then, let's bring the vehicle into the nearest pre-approved auto shop. First, ask the auto shop to print an estimate. Ensure the VIN, odometer, and license plate number are documented. Take a photo and send it to your operations lead. Be sure that any photo you send are clear and include the entire estimate. Report the ETA of completion to your operations lead. Once your operations lead approves the service, he will open your credit card for payment. Keep your operations lead informed if the technicians discover anything problematic with the vehicle. Run your company card as credit to make the payment upon completion of the labor, and then be sure to send pictures of the final invoice to your operations lead before heading home. With bad weather still looming, we will call it a day. Your final step will be to email a brief end-of-day report, or EOD, to your operations lead once you arrive at home. Title: "EOD" with the date. Then attach the applicable photos. Since no mapping was performed, we will only need to send a photo of your odometer and a gas receipt if you got fuel. Now we can look forward to tomorrow. Be proactive and check the weather forecast. Looks promising! Good morning! Let's check the weather. Blue skies! A beautiful sight for a Street View driver. Time to strike while the iron is hot, or better yet, to map while the sky is blue. Your open window for mapping is when the sun is high enough in the sky. Specifically, all mapping must be completed between 1 hour after sunrise and 1 hour before sunset. Email your BOD report to your operations lead. Title: BOD, and include the date. In the body: Beautiful skies, going to map Sunnyvale, starting at 8 AM. Rob. Next, walk around the vehicle. Quickly check that the tires have air and confirm that the vehicle hasn't been vandalized overnight. Report anything unusual to your operations lead. Get gas. Preferably, before you start mapping for the day so that you don't accidentally map inside a gas station. If you need to get gas later in the day, the system must be turned off before turning into the station. Your operations lead never wants to see this kind of imagery. Weather, check. Vehicle, check. Gas, check. We are ready to set up the system. Before starting the system, A disc must be inserted into the onboard computer. To insert a disc, gently pull the small lever on the disc bay to open the COVID Point the label out and the circuit board towards yourself. The city block sticker should be facing out. If it does not slide in smoothly, remove the disc and double-check the orientation. Gently insert the drive 90% of the way then close the door and push it until it clicks. Next, we need to raise the mast. Before getting on top, put a couple of lens wipes in your pocket and leave the back of the hatch open. You will soon see why. Use the ladder to get onto the vehicle. Place the ladder alongside the vehicle, pointed towards the front or rear. Do not face the ladder towards or away from the vehicle. Since it will be more dangerous to get down. Always maintain 3 points of contact. Only step on the strategic points that have the grip tape. Remove the shear pin and undo the bungee cord. Grab and lift the mast from the neck. Do not lift from the lasers or camera head. Once raised, reinsert the shear pin and secure the 2 latches. To remove the camera cover, unzip and unwrap counterclockwise. Drape the COVID over the open hatch. This will help you remember the camera cover and avoid abandoning this expensive piece of equipment on the side of the road. Remove the support arms from the rack and insert them into the slots on the mast. Insert the screw knobs completely, then screw them in. While you are on the vehicle, they should be cleaned twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch, and as many other times as necessary. All cleaned. Double-check the 3 supports, both arms, both clamps, and the shear pin. All looks good. Dismount the vehicle safely. Store the ladder, store the COVID and batten down the hatch. We are now ready to power on the vehicle and system. Turn the engine on first. Without the engine running, the system will drain the battery in a matter of minutes. Next, start the system, reach over to the passenger seat and power on the Kia controller, circuit breaker, power inverter. The system can take up to 10 minutes to power on, so use this time to double-check your email or daily itinerary on your phone. A login screen will prompt you to enter your 4-digit PIN number and odometer reading. Use the keyboard. You will also use the computer interface to track your progress and mark restricted areas. In the upper left-hand corner of the mapping screen is the disk use percentage. If this reaches 90%, you must change the disk. In the center is the daily distance mapped in kilometers or miles. In the upper right is the modem connection status. The buffer gauge is in the upper left, just below the disk use percentage, and indicates the amount of data being processed. Okay. Regulate your driving speed to keep it in the green zone to ensure that the computer is able to process the pictures it collects. Below the buffer gauge are the laser and camera status indicators. Red means not ready or not functioning. Green means ready. On the mapping screen, dark blue lines indicate what have been mapped within the last 30 days, and light blue lines indicate indicate roads that have been mapped more than 30 days ago. At times, you will be updating old imagery, so toggle on and off the light blue lines with the G key. All hotkeys for interacting with the computer are found in the driver's manual. If error messages remain on your screen after loading the system, reboot the computer by pressing the button, then select option 1 to shut down If issues persist after 2 reboots, send a photo of your mapping screen to your operations lead. Then, follow up with a phone call. Once all error messages are off the screen, we are ready to roll! Let's map! Map your way to the priority towns, cities, or areas your operations lead has assigned to you. Communicate your need for more locations as you progress. Unless told otherwise by your operations lead, you should commute with your system on to collect as much imagery as possible. Your goal for each town or city is to map every possible segment of public road. Be thorough. Map to the end of each road, even if it is a dead end. Map all left-hand turn lanes. For streets that have 2 or more lanes in each direction, You must map once in each direction to complete the street. When mapping a roundabout, drive completely around it and make sure to map each exit. For motorways and highways, map the slowest or outermost lane in each direction. Always keep your distance from other vehicles. Drive each slip road, exit road, and on and off ramp. Also, drive rest stops. Do not map parking lots unless you have received special instructions from your operations lead. Do not map inside airports, military property, college universities, gas stations, or any other private or restricted areas. Do not try to obtain permission for access either. Simply drop a pin marker at the entrance of the road by pressing 4, then choose option 2. If you encounter a dirt road, do not try and drive it. Drop a pin at the entrance of the road by pressing 4 and then choosing option 4. Remember, safety first. If you cannot safely drop a pin during your first pass, you can simply pass by again. To increase your efficiency and ensure thoroughness, Map the perimeter of a reasonable section. Then, start mapping the streets within the perimeter. Stop and assess your progress. Revisit what you missed or move on to a new area if completed. Another mapping method, specifically for large populated areas, is called gap mapping. If your operations lead has loaded a gap map into your vehicle, you can press P to to access them. Once selected, the plan will load and show red and green lines. The red indicates segments of road that still need to be mapped. The green shows the pathway you should follow in order to capture the red segments. Be aware that some red segments are private property and should be marked accordingly. Press 1 to zoom in so you can see the directional arrows on the green pathway. 1. Press 2 to zoom back out. Gapmap plans automatically update every morning. While driving, you will inevitably encounter low-hanging objects and structures. You must remember, this isn't a normal vehicle and you cannot drive in certain areas due to the camera height. Your camera height is located on a sticker above the rearview mirror. Memorize these numbers when raised and when lowered. Keep your eye out for height signs. If there's any questions about the height of a structure, stop to assess the situation. There may be some structures you can drive under with your camera system in the down position. If this is the case, pause the system, put the mast down, Drive through with caution, then raise the mast again once you have cleared the structure. If the structure is simply too low, you will need to find another way around. Remember your camera heights. Keep your eyes alert for low objects and clearance signs. And FYI, trees don't always advertise their height, so stay alert. And remember, this is not a a normal vehicle. Throughout the day, you should be checking your quality control images. These will periodically appear on your mapping screen. Look for little smudges caused by bugs, as well as any leaves that may have fallen into the baffle. Be alert to shifts in the weather and stop mapping if conditions become too cloudy, dark, or if you encounter any precipitation. Today, however, has been beautiful through and through. As we approach the end of the day, we must keep two things in mind. First, know your local labor laws and work within the allotted daily and weekly hours. Secondly, you must finish mapping one hour before sunset. Images with the sun too low in the sky are unacceptable for Street View. And can cause engineers to void the entire hard drive. Plan to map the commute home, provided that the sun is still high enough in the sky. Home sweet home. Before shutting down, take photos of the mapping screen, odometer, and any gas receipts. Now you can properly power down the system. Do not turn off the GPS. Turn off the ignition. It is vital that you shut the computer down first. Press Tilde, select Option 1, then Option 1 again. Wait until the computer shuts down, then switch off the Kia controller and circuit breaker. All computer lights should be off. Now you can turn off the car's engine. Remove the hard drive, label it, and place it in the box. Place the COVID over the camera. Finally, send your end-of-day report by email to your operations lead. Title the message "EOD" with the date. Attach the 3 photos and communicate any relevant information in the body. Hit send and we can call it a day. As we wrap up, there are some final instructions and responsibilities that we need to go over. Hard drives must be sent ASAP after 5 have been used for mapping. Check that drives are labeled. Write down the serial number for each drive and take one photo of the blue hard drive labels. Visit FedEx and use the prepaid shipping documentation. Contact your operations lead if you are ever missing shipping documentation. Once the package is sent, report the serial numbers and the tracking number to your operations lead via Google Form and email your photo of the blue hard drive labels. Be sure to request more hard drives once you only have 2 boxes remaining. Next, the roof rack must be inspected regularly upon request from your operations lead. Find the complete instructions for checking the roof rack in the driver manual. Please note: when asked for Thule mount photos, you must send a clear photo of each Thule mount with the COVID removed. Take the photo low enough to ensure that the cross beams don't block the inside of the mount. Don't forget to check your dry tubes! Moisture in the camera is very costly. Keep your vehicle clean and steward it with care This means no food, snacks, or drinks inside the vehicle. Especially no smoking, pets, or passengers inside the vehicle. You should expect to expense a pre-approved amount for cleaning supplies per month. You are expected to clean the Street View vehicle weekly as needed. So there is no excuse for a dirty vehicle, because your operations lead might randomly ask for vehicle audit inspection photos. Okay. So to be clear, no drive-through car washes are ever allowed. Keep in close contact with your operations lead. Use email for all reports and non-pressing issues such as BOD, EOD, or reporting weather changes. Call your operations lead for emergencies or time-sensitive situations such as encounters with an angry individual, when you cannot to troubleshoot the vehicle's system errors, whenever your credit card isn't functioning, or immediately after an accident or camera strike. Email is efficient for operations leads, but don't hesitate to call when the occasion arises. You must keep your phone on and charged during work hours. Never engage the public or press or disclose information about the project. Anyone who asks you a question about the project should be considered as a member of the press. You can simply and politely say, "I am capturing imagery for Google Maps. If you have any questions, you can email press@google.com." If police or other government officials pull you over, you can show them the printed project statement, which should always be kept inside the vehicle. Last but not least, you need to know how to deal with an accident. We hope you never encounter a camera strike accident, but if either vehicle or the mounted equipment make even the slightest contact with anything other than the pavement, you must follow the accident procedure. 1. Assess if you're okay and if others involved are okay. 2. Call emergency services if required. 3. Call police to have them document the accident at the scene of the incident. 4, call your operations lead and your Adecco staffing representative. 5, do not discuss details of the accident, including who was at fault or other parties involved in the incident. Only release these statements to police, governing officials, and Google staff. 6, get other driver's information, driver's license number, license plate, vehicle make and model, and insurance information. 7. Take photos: damage to the Street View vehicles, all 4 Thule mounts, and all damage to the other vehicles. 8. Send all vehicle photos to your operations lead ASAP. 9. Send a photo of the completed police report to your operations lead. 10. Depart the scene once your operations lead has given the okay. As for you, we hope for better things and trust you will stay alert, maintain strong communication with your operations lead, and fulfill your duties as a Street View driver. Keep your manual by your side. It will guide you along the way. And know that your operations lead is present to help you along as well. Together, We are mapping the world, and we're glad to have you on board. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]