A Big Benefit of the First Electric Google Street View Car
Holly Costa
· 3 min read
Google’s camera-equipped cars have captured millions of miles of imagery around the world for their Maps Street View. Now the company has finally deployed its first data-gathering
electric car
to roam the streets of Dublin, Ireland. This development shows another practical solution that electric vehicle (EV) technology can bring to the future of transportation.Autoblog
reported on the new electric Jaguar I-Pace, which is equipped with mobile air sensors designed to measure and record air quality data. The car's technology continues to capture 360-degree imagery of its surroundings with even higher resolution than before. But now it is also tasked with finding and analyzing pollution data on the streets of Ireland's capital city.
What can the new Jaguar I-Pace Google Street View car do?
The Jaguar I-Pace's high-quality air sensors were created by Aclima; a leader in the development of greenhouse gas and air quality measurement technology. The sensors are mounted on the roof of the electric car and measures air quality street-by-street as the car photographs the roads.
This is not the first time Google has partnered with Aclima. Autoblog reported that so far, Google and Aclima have collected over 100 million data points since the start of Google Project Air View that launched six years ago.
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How will the I-Pace air quality data be used?
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One of the most important benefits of integrating the electric Jaguar I-Pace with Google Street View technology is the easy access to invaluable real-time data.
Dublin’s city officials hope to use insights from the data to help them take action to improve the city's overall health and environmental conditions. Google and the Dublin City Council continue to make the air quality data freely available to the scientific community.
Researchers and policymakers can use the data to study air quality and compounds like CO2 and ozone that contribute to climate change when there’s too much present. The
Irish Times
reported that the city also plans to use the data to encourage citizens to make informed decisions and small changes to improve the local environment.Will Google Street View cars go fully electric?
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Since 2015, the Subaru Impreza has been Google's go-to Street View car of choice. The introduction of the electric crossover Jaguar I-Pace will hopefully be the beginning of more forward-thinking, environment-friendly transportation practices. The I-Pace that measures air pollution doesn’t release any emissions as it travels along the streets.
As for Jaguar, the company plans to be a leader in transitioning to electric cars. The automaker pledged to achieve net-zero carbon by 2039. It is an ambitious goal shared by many in the industry who hope to make a positive impact on the environment. The Jaguar and Google Street View partnership might signal a future of many more electric Street View cars around the world.
How will switching to electric help combat climate change?
EVs still indirectly produce carbon when they are built, but they don’t release any emissions on the road. In the long-term, EVs can save you money on fuel and reduce emissions overall. As the EV charging infrastructure improves and the production process evolves, EVs will hopefully become even more viable for combating climate change.
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