This post was originally created for CScout’s Mobile Trendpool. I’ve cross posted it here as I’d think you’d find the technology and talk interesting.

At the recent TED conference, Blaise Aguera y Arcas demoed the mapping application platform that’s been integrated into Microsoft’s Bing Maps. Data from the apps associated through the (currently internal) API allows users to overlay location-based content such as geotagged Twitter tweets, photographs, or blog posts.

The Streetside app stretches crowdsourced Flickr images onto maps giving fresh, or even historical, higher quality views of given locations, while at the same time affording users a new way to explore the huge cache of geotagged photos on Flickr. Streetside doesn’t stop at static images though; at the TED talk, Arcas demoed the inclusion of video in the Bing map view. As Arcas panned the map around, viewers saw live video precisely overlayed on his view of the Pike Street Market.

The way in which images—still or moving—are included hint at the three-dimensional awareness the maps have. This technology stems from the incorporation of Seadragon and PhotoSynth technologies, of which Arcas is the creator.

Currently the the Streetside app is available in Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver. In order to have your images included in the app, they must be geotagged and labeled with a sharing-enabled Creative Commons license.

Watch the TED Talk below: