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Something our human eyes seem to do, without any prompting, is to pick out shapes and structures that resemble other shapes and structures. Called pareidolia, it's a form of pattern recognition -- and a good example is the way we often see a human face where only a random collection of shapes or shadows exists. This, it is now known, is the reason for the infamous face on Mars.

Our own Earth, as folded and rippled as it is, is also prone to this phenomenon when viewed from above: the Badlands Guardian, discovered on Google Earth in 2006, for example. But we're sure there are many more human-esque faces lurking in strange corners of the Earth.

That is the premise behind Google Faces, a project by Berlin design studio Onformative: can pareidolia be imitated by a machine? Using OpenFrameworks, the studio has created an application that crawls Google Maps, using facial recognition algorithms to seek out areas that look like faces. … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- You won't see a new phone from Nokia at CTIA, but the company did reveal it was expanding its already impressive Here Maps for Windows Phone 8 devices.

Available today is an update that will integrate the company's LiveSight augmented reality feature. Previously available only through the CityLens app, LiveSight pulls up nearby locations and displays relevant information like the type of business or attraction, the hours, the address and phone number, and customer ratings.

You access LiveSight mode through a dedicated control in the Here interface. Once activated, you'll see the points of … Read more

As I sat through the last half hour of a nearly 4-hour keynote, sweat pouring through my shirt, my attention waned. Most people's did. Where were the gadgets? Last year, Google seemed like the hottest (or, most conversation-starting) hardware company around. This year, the only hardware mentioned was the 3-month-old Chromebook Pixel. I wanted new, weird products: watches, new evolutions of Glass, crazy convertible tablets. I wanted to see what Google's next products are.

Yet, you can see the message. In the people wearing Glass -- of which I was one, sheepish, awkward. In the customized, personalized Maps. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google's mapping service relies on mammoth data centers, vast quantities of satellite imagery, and a fleet of Street View cars. But it also relies on you.

At the Google I/O developer show here on Friday, Google engineers described how they've overhauled Google Maps, and two areas in which information from Google users is key to that.

First, using anonymous data collected from people using Google Maps on mobile phones, it picks the best navigation routes. Second, using photos people upload to its Panoramio and Picasa photo services, it generates immersive tours that swoop around … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google and its partner The Catlin Seaview Survey need help from developers to document the world's coral reefs and save them from extinction.

During a session at the Google I/O developer conference, Richard Vevers of the Catlin Seaview Survey and Jenifer Austin Foulkes, a business product manager for Google Earth & Maps, talked up Google's efforts to bring underwater panoramic images to Google Maps.

Google first started virtually mapping the ocean floor four years ago, and in September the company launched its first 360 degree panoramic street views of the ocean. Google partnered with … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- By now Street View is a routine part of online mapping. But people might not be so familiar with how Google actually gets the data for its 360-degree panoramic views of the world.

Street View imagery launched in 2007 with photos taken by cameras perched on cars. That's still the mainstay of the project, but there's much more to it now, and Google was showing off its methods at its Google I/O 2013 developer show here this week.

Exhibits included not just a car, but also a snowmobile, tricycle, backpack, trolley, and self-propelled underwater … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Wrapping up CNET's coverage of Google I/O 2013.

- Nerd fight!

- Follow Bridget on the Twitter.

- Watch CNET Update every single day of your life.

- Make sure you tune in to find out how you can win one of six MLB/NBA 2K Sports prize packs!… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Google Maps began as roads and satellite photos. Now, through a project called Ground Truth, it's becoming an ever more sophisticated virtual mirror of the real world.

But how? Google engineers described their methods Wednesday at the Google I/O show, describing how they've moved from licensing satellite photos to building 3D version of the world that can be updated in minutes.

The answer might surprise close Google watchers accustomed to the company's heavily automated, algorithmic, computer-centric way of doing things. There's plenty of that, but it also takes lots of elbow grease, said Michael … Read more

Google showed a completely overhauled Google Maps service and Web interface today at I/O 2013. The site is receiving changes and updates on the front and back end to make it easier for user to navigate and developers to work with.

The most obvious changes are the visual updates and redesigned elements, featuring a Google Now-inspired "cards" aesthetic, deeper integration of the Google+ social network for recommendations, and a reshuffling of how users interact with the site and how information is presented to them.

Before you start spamming your browser's refresh button over at maps.google.… Read more