Night Walk in Marseille [video]

https://nightwalk.withgoogle.com/en

by WikiChen • 12 years ago

128 74 12 years ago

nightwalk.withgoogle.com

mikkom2• 12 years ago

Ah snap. The Night Walk experience is not optimised for your device or operating system.

Great. Please don't tell me what's wrong with my browser or os.

chippy• 12 years ago

it's probably over a year old .... or not running webGL

mikkom2• 12 years ago

Sorry but I don't want to play the guessing game with random commenter any more than I want to with Google.

(The browser is latest firefox/iceweasel on Debian testing)

anigbrowl• 12 years ago

Yeah, I use Chrome but I find the error messages uncomfortably reminiscent of MacOS (ie not helpful or informative).

doe88• 12 years ago

Sweet, it's great to see his hometown in a post on HN :)

p4bl07• 12 years ago

Héhé same here! Aïoli !

ISL2• 12 years ago

Page seems non-functional, wants me to plug in headphones? Chromium Version 33.0.1750.152, linux box.

Edit: reloading made it work.

rev0872• 12 years ago

That seems to be the "loading indicator". I was confused for a second, then it just faded away. I don't think there's a browser API to actually know wether the user has headphones plugged in or not.

cclogg2• 12 years ago

I wonder if someday we can get to the point where StreetView is a continuous flow... like instead of tapping the arrow and waiting for the next slide to load, you would just smoothly walk forward or backwards along a track using up/down arrow.

I guess it would be technically possible already, but Google would have to snap their images with much smaller distances, and make them load in much faster... space requirements would be huge lol.

mankyd• 12 years ago

Microsoft's PhotoSynth has an impressive demo of this. Check out: http://photosynth.net/preview/view/31e5927d-af4b-4678-8bba-c...

Blahah• 12 years ago

It seems like all you can do is play the sequence forward or backward - surely a simple video is much better than this?

thearn4• 12 years ago

Very impressive! I'd be very curious to see what this would look like with streetview images.

optimusclimb• 12 years ago

I think we have that already, but it requires you go outside :P

cclogg2• 12 years ago

But let's say I want to 'go outside' in Tokyo or Dubai, without having the money to actually travel there...!

jonahx• 12 years ago

Where can I find more info on Go's "outside" library? I'd like to use it on my next project. Do you know if any YC companies are currently using it in production?

krilnon• 12 years ago

In areas where Google already lets you view 3D imagery, it's already possible for them to show you a crude, continuous StreetView. It's just that the UI doesn't let you angle the camera such that it's oriented at street/eye-level

zodiac• 12 years ago

I've built a prototype that uses the phone's accelerometer to control google maps so you get a kind of 3D street view, but it only looks nice if you set your own height to be a few stories high. You can angle the camera at eye level, but the buildings all obscure each other.

robertfw• 12 years ago

Would love to try this out in VR!

tommydiaz• 12 years ago

Anyone know what this is and why it's blurred out? http://imgur.com/yi0sCEC

Also, videos are not playing right for me on firefox (audio only).

rev0872• 12 years ago

Videos are not loading for me at all using Safari 7.0.3

dave809• 12 years ago

possibly logos/advertisements.

abdullahkhalids• 12 years ago

videos not showing for me either, only the audio..

seszett• 12 years ago

Maybe it was recognized by Google's algorithms as numbers, or something.

House street numbers and car plates are blurred on Street View in France, and often some small squares with text are also blurred by error.

sehr• 12 years ago

Most immersive experience I've had on the internet so far, the added videos & interviews absolutely made it.

cshimmin• 12 years ago

Honestly. This reminds me of the old educational software disks my folks would check out for me at the library back in the late 90's. And I mean that the best way possible!

phaer• 12 years ago

Oh yes, nice memories! Microsoft Encarta had a few of those "walks" and I used it extensively until it was slowly replaced by Wikipedia.

evanlivingston• 12 years ago

This is pretty cool.

Neal Stephenson's "Command Line" comes to mind, where he talks about how experiences are distilled and summarized for an end user. I have a vague negative feeling toward this, but I can present no argument.

ISL2• 12 years ago

It's an opt-in experience. You can still go for a walk :).

faddotio2• 12 years ago

This is the Web version of walking around a museum with an audio guide around your neck.

mentos• 12 years ago

Cool! Very immersive and this is coming from an oculus rift owner.

I was thinking the next step up from this would be to setup 360 degree cameras every 10 or so feet along this path and have them all record for say an hour. Then you could 'walk' from point to point and see/hear/track the city.

But I actually think this curated approach is much better as it helps you cut out the noise and tell a better story.

leoc3• 12 years ago

"Your headphones will give you the best experience." I'm wearing my headphones, thanks Google. Can I watch this now?

spike021• 12 years ago

Happened to me at first too. Refreshing the page worked. Not sure if that's an intentional pause or not.

icebraining2• 12 years ago

I think it's loading. My wifi LED was flashing furiously while that message appeared.

MichaelTieso• 12 years ago

I'm having the same issue. I can't start it. Edit: Keep refreshing the page to get it to load.

leoc3• 12 years ago

Wait a while and then the wear-headphones notification may eventually drop down off the screen. If so, then press the arrow keys and the thing may start playing.

sethbannon• 12 years ago

Totally engrossing.

jevinskie• 12 years ago

Agreed. The audio alone was enough to immerse me. Right now it is in a background tab and I change the location every few minutes to change the sound!

Magi604• 12 years ago

This was great.

I didn't care much for the narration, but perhaps that's because when I travel I prefer to explore things on my own. The captions and videos were helpful though.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you didn't have to follow the green track (though you miss out on the pictures and videos). I discovered it by accident, actually. At some point in time I found out that I had become disoriented and had been going backwards for some time. Rather than go through the entire track again, I wanted to see if I could take a shortcut. It works.

You know what would be cool? Incorporating some sort of "Choose Your Own Adventure" elements into something like this. Kind of like Myst, but in real-world settings.

hawkharris• 12 years ago

A few weeks ago I purchased a Leap Motion Controller: one of those devices that tracks your finger movements and translates them into actions on your laptop screen. I was pretty impressed with the device's accuracy, but I ended up returning it because I didn't see how it had practical applications for my own work. After the initial excitement of moving windows with your hands (pretending you're in a sci-fi movie) fades off, the old-fashioned method of clicking is simply easier and more convenient.

Viewing this "Night Walk" demonstration, I felt an inkling of regret about returning Leap Motion. As others have noted, the experience is very immersive and exciting. The only thing holding it back, in my opinion, is the medium of mouse and keyboard. I wanted to move fluidly through Marseille instead of incrementally, through clicking and jerky motions of the mouse. If this kind of 3D / WebGL / geospatial content becomes more prevalent on the web, I can see a stronger practical use case for everyone owning Leap, or something like it.

spyder• 12 years ago

I think for this use case the Oculus with it's head tracking would be a better fit, because when you walk in a city you don't really use your hands like you do with the LeapMotion.

dalek2point3• 12 years ago

Did you try the Leap with Google Earth? it works great! Lots of fun.

leoc3• 12 years ago

A camera taking lurching steps through the Marseilles nightlife? Meh, it's been done. ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuOecH5NoXs

p4bl07• 12 years ago

Haha. I would have linked to "Marseille la nuit" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIWG167J1To. Marseille really is the most hiphop city in France (Europe ?).

petercooper2• 12 years ago

Oh wow, I've struggled to find this on YouTube for some reason. Best non-English hip hop music video I've seen so far :-)

p4bl07• 12 years ago

Wow seriously? There is some awesomely good French hip hop. Even without looking further than the IAM band, did you listen to "Demain c'est loin" [1]? Or more generally to their whole "L'école du micro d'argent" LP [2].

I'd be happy to share more French hip hop with anyone who wants.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCUiG9aZSh8

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjUEYZbJWsk

VeejayRampay• 12 years ago

More like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guM99-MqLtI am I right. And that's immersive as well.

p4bl07• 12 years ago

It's true that Belsunce is at 5 minutes of walk from the Cours Julien and La Plaine where the night walk takes place.

This track is amazing. Not lyrics wise: neither the text nor rhymes nor the flow are especially good. Considering that it is a rap song these could be severe drawbacks. But the instrumental is so effective the track is globally awesome.

D'où j'sors ? D'une ronde. Belsunce breakdown.

amgin3• 12 years ago

I think it is broken in Chrome on Linux.. unless it is supposed to be a series of stretched out looking pictures taking up a small portion of the screen that spin around on their central axis and flip upside-down when you drag your mouse, and you can only navigate with keyboard arrows..

Zigurd• 12 years ago

I'm using in in Chrome version 33.0.1750.152 on Ubuntu 14.04 Linux with no apparent problems.

inportb• 12 years ago

it does the same for me in Chromium 33.0.1750.152, but works with Firefox 28.0

Nux2• 12 years ago

"Ah snap. The Night Walk experience is not optimised for your device or operating system."

No night walk if you're not in the googleverse.

icebraining2• 12 years ago

Works in Firefox.

Nux2• 12 years ago

Not on mine. 24.4.0 @ Linux x86_64

reirob• 12 years ago

It works not on all Firefox. Just tried it out with Firefox on a Android tablet and it said I should download Chrome. Then I started it with Chrome on the same tablet and it crashed it?!

itsbonczek• 12 years ago

This is the type of thing that Google Glass was made for.

ebabchick• 12 years ago

Does anyone know what team(s) are responsible for these kinds of projects at Google?

WikiChen• 12 years ago

Would love to know this as well!

richtr• 12 years ago

Please hook this (and Street View) up to https://github.com/richtr/threeVR.

How it works: http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/w3c-device-orientation-us...

Live demo: http://richtr.github.io/threeVR/examples/vr_basic.html

stblack• 12 years ago

Nice implementation.

Marseille has a severe graffiti problem, doesn't it? Mais c'est dégueulasse!

p4bl07• 12 years ago

Why would this be a problem? This district of Marseille is really nice, and graffitis contribute to the overall atmosphere.

hauget• 12 years ago

can anyone give me ideas\links on what HW & SW I would need to make something like this? Would love to make an adventure game with this concept! Cheers!

bemmu2• 12 years ago

Did my own graffiti spotting during this walk: http://i.imgur.com/JX9uJLn.png

Same guy disappearing into the wall in two different places, I wonder if there is more of him?

TeMPOraL• 12 years ago

Someone's thinking with P0rtals. ;).

bemmu2• 12 years ago

There he goes again: http://i.imgur.com/VyWbMrR.png

faddotio2• 12 years ago

Very engrossing.

ilbe• 12 years ago

This is a taste of augmented reality. I like it. I'm left a bit unsatisfied though. I want to experience the real thing now.

p4bl07• 12 years ago

This is awesome even if you know the place pretty well, and the sounds and music totally enhance the experience! Thanks for sharing.

acqq• 12 years ago

Anybody can point to anything else "interesting" in the presentation than the "graffiti" and the technical side of making a lot of 360 deg night-shot panoramas with sound?

And is there a possibility to make the link to some particular spot?

(I can't imagine graffiti interesting to those who aren't themselves doing them. It's subjective, I know, and I respect that others have other views, I've heard about Banksy etc).

malabar• 12 years ago

loved this, hope for more

Night Walk in Marseille [video]

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