Google Street View - the go to tool when the standard Google Maps just doesn't quite cut it.
We use it to figure out exactly where places are, getting to know an area better and let's be honest, just having a bit of nosey at how the other half may live.
And, at nearly 15 years old, it's a bit of a life-saver.
Google Street View's roving car was this week spotted in Hulme, and, as it turns out, has been riding round our great city - and the rest of the North West region - since March and will be hanging around until September.
So, what is Street View?
According to Google themselves it is 'virtual representation of our surroundings on Google Maps, consisting of millions of panoramic images.'
In order to capture Street View, a camera is strategically mounted to the roof rack of the Google Car with the power and data cables being fed into the car through the right rear passenger window.
But, whilst most of the photography is done by car, it is a collaborative effort as there are just some parts that the four-wheel vehicle can't reach.
So, some is done by tricycle, boat, underwater apparatus, on foot and even by snowmobile.
And how does that make up what we see on screen?
According to Google, it is a four-step operation, starting with collecting the imagery, which is where the car comes in.
They say that they need to drive around and photograph the locations that are shown in street view and it's not as straightforward as just driving up and down.
For it to be the most accurate, they take into account the weather and the population density of various areas to be able to determine when and where they can collect the best imagery.
Next is aligning the imagery.
Google say that they match each image to its geographic location on the map by combining signals from sensors on the car that measure GPS, speed and direction.
This allows them to reconstruct the entire route the car has travelled.
Then they need to actually make the photographs 360. I know, the mind boggles.
The Street View website says that adjacent cameras take slightly overlapping pictures which they then 'stitch' together into a single 360 degree image.
This, finally, is what we see in 3D.
According to Google, they are able to tell how far a building or object is by how quickly the cars three lasers reflect off the surface which enabled them to create the model and show you the best panorama view for that location.
So, next time you see the Google car, give them a wave and don't worry, they automatically blur faces so you won't need to get out of anything too embarrassing.
