Wearables

Google's Trekker brings Street View to hiking trails

Google's Trekker brings Street View to hiking trails
The Android-powered system is contained within a single backpack (Photo: Google)
The Android-powered system is contained within a single backpack (Photo: Google)
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Google's Trekker will bring Street View to hiking trails (Photo: Google)
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Google's Trekker will bring Street View to hiking trails (Photo: Google)
The Android-powered system is contained within a single backpack (Photo: Google)
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The Android-powered system is contained within a single backpack (Photo: Google)
Google plans to use the device in canyons and national parks (Photo: Google)
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Google plans to use the device in canyons and national parks (Photo: Google)
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Over the last few years, Google's specially-designed cars, trikes, trolleys and snowmobiles have brought interactive Street View technology to the cities and jungles of the world – but why stop there? The search giant recently unveiled the Street View Trekker, a hi-tech backpack-contained system that will bring Street View to those places that can only be reached on foot.

The Android-powered setup weighs in at 40 pounds (18 kg) and includes 15 five-megapixel cameras, a hard drive for local storage, and two batteries that provide enough power for a full day's walk.

The captured images are stored in the hard drive, processed by Google, and finally uploaded to the Web. Google plans to take the backpack to canyons, national parks, castles and ruins.

Nature Valley has already done something similar, using a backpack-mounted multi-lens camera to capture 360-degree imagery of trails in some of America's national parks.

The short video below shows the Google Trekker in action.

Street View Trekker

Source: Google Lat Long Blog

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6 comments
6 comments
Germán
Great!! Now we don't need to leave our houses anymore =P
No, seriously, this is a great idea, specially to plan our trips and outdoor adventures
Alan Belardinelli
Seems useful. I never take pictures, so now I could show people where I was without having to take holiday snaps. Only problem that I can see is that I tend to go places where other people do not..
Dennis Wright
At what point do we have excessive information? Is basic individual exploration dead. Perhaps is would be good to reread, "The Ulysses Factor".
mountainhiker
Super idea, now where do we go get them to map the favorite hikes in our area?
Bryan Paschke
Is it waterproof? I'm willing to strap one to my kayak.
Kallif
Great of them to redo this, but it was done by Nature Valley over a year ago.
http://naturevalleytrailview.com/