TECH: This is what happens when a Google Street view car meets a Bing car on the road

When I first read about a Google Street View car crossing paths with a Bing car, I was absolutely shocked. I mean, who knew that Bing Maps was even around anymore? Okay, so perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but with Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze all in the mix, it’s legitimately easy to forget about all of the mapping work Microsoft has been doing in recent years. In light of that, you might recall that Bing Maps actually has its own version of Google Street View, a feature that Microsoft calls Bing StreetSide.

The photos Microsoft uses for Bing StreetSide are acquired in the same exact way Google acquires its own photos for Street View; cars outfitted with advanced cameras slowly but surely drive along roads and take photos of buildings and stores from a street-level perspective. And on one glorious day in 2014, with the stars aligned just right, a Google Street View car making the rounds in a Minnesota neighborhood just so happened to cross paths with a Bing car. As you might expect, all hell broke loose.


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