Google will soon have an unprecedented ability to\u00a0spy on you from space. Theoretically, at least. How?<\/p>\n
Two months ago, after much lobbying by the biggest satellite company in North America,\u00a0DigitalGlobe,\u00a0the\u00a0US government relaxed restrictions<\/a>\u00a0to allow for commercially available satellite imagery up to\u00a025 cm resolution\u2013twice as detailed as the previous limit of\u00a050 cm.<\/p>\n Now, the first commercial satellite set to\u00a0capture these high-res images, DigitalGlobe’s\u00a0Worldview-3, will launch this Wednesday<\/a>. Six months after that, private businesses willing to fork over the money will be able to get their hands on hyper-detailed photos and videos of the globe.<\/p>\n That, of course, includes Google.<\/p>\n Google\u2013along with Microsoft, NASA, and numerous US federal agencies such as National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which played a pivotal role in the seizure of Osama Bin Laden\u2013is a regular DigitalGlobe customer. It\u00a0signed a multiyear imagery contract with the colossus satellite company<\/a>\u00a0in February to\u00a0use satellite imagery for apps like Google Earth, Maps, and Street View.<\/p>\n Google’s Robo-Selfies Break Street View’s Fourth Wall<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The extra sharp images from Worldview-3 will greatly\u00a0increase the maps’ level of\u00a0detail\u00a0to the point where it can make out 10-inch objects, which means Google will\u00a0soon be able to\u00a0see \u201cmanholes and mailboxes<\/a>\u201d from its hired eyes in the sky.<\/p>\n