![Still image of an aerial view video](https://developers.google.com/static/maps/documentation/aerial-view/images/aerial-view-overview.png)

The Aerial View API is a service that lets you create and display
photorealistic 3D aerial videos of any physical address within the United
States. The videos simulate footage taken by a drone circling overhead.

Google has already created a dataset of pre-rendered aerial view videos for you
to use. They cover large buildings and landmarks throughout the United States.
And we're adding more aerial view videos all the time. You can simply use these
existing videos or, if a video does not yet exist for an address, you can
request that Google generate a new one for you.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Google automatically pre-renders videos for addresses periodically, so some addresses will have no wait time.

## Why use Aerial View API

Here are some reasons why you might want to use Aerial View API.

- You want to explore 3D data, but you're not comfortable using 3D Tiles, or with working with a renderer

- You like the context of satellite imagery, and the ability to recognize a building facade from Street View

- You've considered hiring a drone operator to film your property

- You want to use cutting-edge, innovative technology

- You're comfortable embedding video in your web site

## What you can do with Aerial View API

Here's a list of some of the things you can do with Aerial View API.

- Provide birds-eye awareness of a building by highlighting nearby roads, parks, or bodies of water

- Give a prospective renter or home buyer a sense of what a property is like

- Set the scene for a short-form video showing the viewer where you are

- Highlight attractions or points-of-interest when helping users plan a vacation

- Help delivery drivers or shoppers find your place of business

## How the Aerial View API works

There are two approaches that you can take to use the Aerial View API.

> [!TIP]
> **Tip:** Both of these approaches should begin with you checking whether the video exists using the [`lookupVideoMetadata`](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/aerial-view/lookup-video-metadata.md.txt) endpoint.

| Approach | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Lookup a generated video | All of the aerial imagery that you need has already been rendered by Google (Google's pre-rendered dataset). |
| Generate a new video | You need aerial view imagery that hasn't already been pre-rendered by Google. |

## Coverage areas

Aerial View API only supports postal addresses in the United States where
Google is able to render 3D videos.

## How to use the Aerial View API

|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Review the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service** | Note that you cannot download, store, or cache the aerial view videos. For more information, see the [Google Maps Platform Terms of Service](https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/). |
| 2 | **Get set up** | Start with [Set up your Google Cloud project](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/aerial-view/cloud-setup) and complete the instructions that follow. |
| 3 | **Retrieve an aerial view video's metadata** | Send a US postal address or `videoId` to the `lookupVideoMetadata()` endpoint to return an aerial view video's metadata. See [Retrieve a video's metadata.](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/aerial-view/lookup-video-metadata.md.txt) |
| 4 | **Fetch an existing aerial view video** | Send a US postal address or `videoId` to the `lookupVideo()` endpoint to return a pre-rendered aerial view video. See [Fetch a generated video.](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/aerial-view/lookup-video.md.txt) |
| 5 | **Generate a new aerial view video** | Send a US postal address to the `renderVideo()` endpoint to request the generation of a new aerial view video for the specified address. See [Generate a new video.](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/aerial-view/generate-video.md.txt) |