A Lego-Google Marriage

Complete with all sorts of doodads, cars, and trees

A coder from Sweden named Einar Odberg has broken the code on Google Street View. He has done what kids and geriatrics (and those in between) all over the world have envisioned at one point in their life. He successfully layered a Lego version of everything on top of Google Street View called Brick Street View. That’s right. Whether or not you had the patience for it, you can now see a Lego version of your hometown or city. The layer comes complete with all sorts of doodads, cars, and trees.

The software Odberg uses is far from perfect but it is nonetheless impressive.  The Stockholm native shares what was involved in making the program a reality. LDraw, BRIGL, GSVPano, GSVPanoDepth, ThreeJS, Google Places API, and Google App Engine are some of the technologies involved for those interested in the technical jargon.  Odberg also mentions that the quality of depth and detail is highly dependent on what was originally provided by Google.

The fascinating take on our world features two ways in which you can explore the block filled wonders.  First is the bird’s eye view where you can see street names strewn across the LEGO marked base plates. Second is where you can go down to street view level with your personal Lego figure guide.  What are your favorite global landmarks? Go check them out if the actual versions seem boring for you.