Here's How Google Maps & Street View Is Helping People Reconnect With Their Deceased Loved Ones

Loss of a loved one creates a void that can never be filled, leaving only memories of a time that will never come back. Most of us remember our loved ones by looking back at old pictures and videos.

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As the years pass, finding ways to keep your loved one¡¯s memory alive can bring comfort and a sense that they are still very much a part of your life. However over time, the felt sense of a loved one will slowly start fading and fear of the same can be crippling, but with technology, there are some memories that will stay afresh. Google's navigation system is helping people deal with the death of their loved ones in a unique manner.

More and more users of Google Maps are going back in time to look for a 'coincidental' snapshot of their loved ones. Google Maps, and by extension Street View, collects a staggering amount of data about locals, and many people have been harnessing the power of the service's time shift feature, which can help people move backwards and forward in time to catch a glimpse of their loved ones.

Because if this thread I found my dad... it¡¯s been almost 4 years. ??? I never knew. Thank you pic.twitter.com/KaxTMaqXg2

¡ª Paula (@paulasulll) January 9, 2020

By exploring locations where deceased loved ones once lived, people are able to see pictures of their deceased relatives going about living their lives, doing everyday things - walking or just basking in the sun. To find images of your loved ones on Google Street View depends on whether their picture was captured by a Google Maps car or a Street View Contributor.

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These photo sweeps happen on an alternate basis, which is why sometimes one can see people and places and things that are captured in a frame for eternity. To date, Google Maps have captured more than 10 million miles of Street View imagery - a distance that could circle the globe over 400 times. The idea of Street View started as a side project more than 12 years ago as part of a goal to map the entire world. The company collects street imagery via a fleet of Street View cars, each equipped with nine cameras that capture high-definition imagery from every vantage point possible.

"These cameras are athermal, meaning that they are designed to handle extreme temperatures without changing focus so they can function in a range of environments," according to Google.

More recently, Twitter user @TeacherUFO was surprised and shocked to see his father on images from Google Earth. While this may not be a big deal for many, for him it was a whirlwind of emotions as he was seeing his father after seven years of him passing away.

He shared the picture on Twitter and explained the whole situation. He was simply using Google Earth out of boredom, as many have been during the pandemic; he decided to revisit his parents¡¯ home.

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¡°I have nothing to do in Corona, so when I went to see my parents' house on Google Earth, I saw my father who died 7 years ago,¡± he wrote in Japanese. There is a thread of images in which he shows his father as captured by the Google Earth cameras. He says his father must have been waiting for his mother just outside the house. He can be seen standing by the side of the road. He goes on to say how his father was a quiet man but very kind. At the end of the caption, he requested Google to not update these images for this location on their algorithm so that his father could always be there on the digital space, if not with him in real life.

¥³¥í¥Ê¤Ç¤ä¤ëʤʤ¤¤«¤éGoogleEarth¤ÇŒg¼ÒÒŠ¤ËÐФ俤é7ÄêÇ°¤ËËÀ¤ó¤ÀÓH¸¸¤¬Ð´¤Ã¤Æ¤¿¡£¤½¤ÎÏȤËÈˤ¬¾Ó¤¿¤«¤éÒŠ¤ËÐФ俤éĸ¤Á¤ã¤ó¤À¤Ã¤¿¡£Ò»·þ¤·¤Ê¤¬¤é°Â¤µ¤ó¤ÎŽ¢¤ê¤ò´ý¤Ã¤Æ¤¿¤ó¤À¤Ê¡£Ÿo¿Ú¤À¤±¤Éƒž¤·¤¤ÓH¸¸¤À¤Ã¤¿¡£¤³¤Î¤Þ¤Þ¤³¤ÎˆöËù¤ÎдÕæ¸üФ·¤Ê¤¤¤ÇÓû¤·¤¤¤Ê¡£ pic.twitter.com/PXxBICAxmz

¡ª ¥¿¥à¥Á¥ó¥­ (@TeacherUfo) January 4, 2021

"I waved at it, so you better check it one day," his daughter recalled him telling her back then. Randy died in 2017, reports BuzzFeed News.

Also Read: Woman With Agoraphobia Finds A Unique Way To Cope, Uses Google Street View To Travel The World

Andrea one day decided to see if that image was still there and to her surprise, "there he was, waving." She is not alone as this has now become a viral Twitter moment.

"If you ever lost someone, give it a try," she told Buzzfeed. "You never know what you¡¯re going to find."

Another girl named Yajaira found her deceased grandfather, thanks to Google Maps, and told the story on her Twitter account. "My grandpa passed away a few years ago," @yajairalyb wrote Tuesday. "We didn't get to say goodbye to him. Yesterday we found out google maps finally drove through his farm and as we were curious going through it, where the road ends, there is my grandpa, just sitting there," Buzzfeed quoted a Twitter user as saying.

#2

My mom passed away 4 years ago today. This is her stealing water from a fire hydrant on Street View. She was great. pic.twitter.com/BMoFOjQ52b

¡ª Marko Savic (@markosavic) November 24, 2015

"Google Street View car had unknowingly snapped photos of one art student's grandpa in Switzerland while he was gardening in his front lawn, a year or so before he died. She said "It was incredible seeing him just standing there, exactly as I remember him," wrote a Twitter user.

Twitter

"The same thing happened when I google my Nonna and Pops house. They're both gone now but on google maps, they're out in the their garden together. Gets me every time," posted Lauren. "Because of this thread, I found my dad... it's been almost 4 years. I never knew. Thank you," wrote another user.

I randomly googled my grandma's address once last year when I couldn't stop thinking of her... this was what I saw I couldn't stop crying! My grandma was chilling in her front yard... I miss my ole gal! ? pic.twitter.com/1ytDswHDIO

¡ª Kizzi J. (@KizziRock_) January 9, 2020

¡°I randomly googled my grandma¡¯s address once last year when I couldn¡¯t stop thinking of her¡­ this was what I saw I couldn¡¯t stop crying! My grandma was chilling in her front yard¡­ I miss my ole gal!¡± another shared.

According to Buzzfeed, the user's grandmother named Ford battled early-onset Alzheimer's disease for a few years and the older she got, it became more difficult with her immune system breaking down simultaneously. In January 2016 at age 97, Ford passed away.

According to AP, Google Maps have captured more than 10 million miles of Street View imagery - a distance that could circle the globe over 400 times. Each Street View car includes its own photo processing centre and lidar sensors that use laser beams to accurately measure distance. Once Google collects photos, it uses a technique called photogrammetry to align and stitch together a single set of images.

Faces are, as a rule, blurred, and you'll usually only find someone you know if you know exactly where to look with the right address. Many users have taken to Street View to surface old images of their beloved pets as well.

This brief trip back in the time is a previously unknown function offered by Google, it's changing lives for some and allowing many to keep memories of a loved alive in a completely different manner.