Comment Re:You don't know if the new images are from drone (Score 5, Informative) 141
Actually, yes, sort of... the majority of the higher res images on Google Maps, is taken from light aircraft fitted with specialized camera equipment.
The imagery is taken most for surveying, council and real-estate uses, not for applications like Google Maps.
I would bet the Austin imagery is also done this way.
As an example, http://nearmap.com/ offers quite high res imagery.
Its mentioned here they the photos are taken with low flying aircraft: http://www.nearmap.com/products/photomap-coverage
The imagery is taken most for surveying, council and real-estate uses, not for applications like Google Maps.
I would bet the Austin imagery is also done this way.
As an example, http://nearmap.com/ offers quite high res imagery.
Its mentioned here they the photos are taken with low flying aircraft: http://www.nearmap.com/products/photomap-coverage