Google's Street View cars help locate gas leaks in US cities


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Google's Street View cars have a checkered history; they carry some truly incredible technology, but have also landed the company in hot water. But a few of Google's cars have taken on an additional task while logging miles across the US. Instead of sniffing for Wi-Fi networks, they're sniffing for gas leaks. Three Street View cars equipped with specialized sensors capable of detecting methane were dispatched in Staten Island, Boston, and Indianapolis.

 

They took 15 million readings in all across those locations, which were chosen because of aging pipelines and other infrastructure issues that make leaks more likely. And the hunches proved correct; Google's cars measured one gas leak for every mile they traversed in the city of Boston, though other test spots like Indianapolis fared significantly better. Methane leaks contribute to climate warming and can even cause explosions under the right circumstances.

 

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Gas leaks in and around the Boston area.

 

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http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/16/5910059/street-view-cars-help-locate-gas-leaks

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This is interesting. Didn't realize there were so many gas leaks around. Still would have to identify the source.

 

On another note, if I fart next time the Google Car comes by, will it send that data back to Google?

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On another note, if I fart next time the Google Car comes by, will it send that data back to Google?

 

Not sure about that. I am more interested to see if Boston sues Google for spying on public/unsecured gas leaks.

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its a precursor for the Alien invasion so they can just say it was a gas leak?

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