DailyTech - Quick Note: Google Reveals New 3D Maps, "Street View Trekker"

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Internet Quick Note: Google Reveals New 3D Maps, "Street View Trekker"
Tiffany Kaiser - June 6, 2012 8:08 PM

5 comment(s) - last by Tony Swash.. on Jun 7 at 11:53 AM

Google is using Street View Trekker photography equipment to take pictures of places that can only be reached on foot

Google announced that it is developing a better Maps experience through the use of 3D maps and the Street View Trekker.

Google announced that it would begin adding 3D models to Google Earth mobile apps using aerial photography. You can see what Google has been working in the video below:

Another new feature is the addition of Street View Trekker, which consists of photography equipment that can take beautiful and rich pictures of places that can only be accessed by foot, offering a vast and in-depth Maps experience.

All of the Street View Trekker equipment fits in a single backpack, and Google employees like engineering director Luc Vincent have been carrying the equipment around on foot while it photographs places without vehicle access. Vincent hit the slopes with the Trekker already, where he skied with the backpack of equipment.

"Today, we’re taking another step forward with our Street View Trekker," said Brian McClendon, Vice President of Engineering for Google Maps. "You’ve seen our cars, trikes, snowmobiles and trolleys—but wheels only get you so far. There’s a whole wilderness out there that is only accessible by foot. Trekker solves that problem by enabling us to photograph beautiful places such as the Grand Canyon so anyone can explore them."

In addition to Trekker, Google also made a few other announcements. For starters, Map Maker, which is a Google service designed to expand the offerings of Google Maps, will become available in a variety of countries in the next few weeks. These countries include South Africa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Google also mentioned that offline Google Maps will be coming in the next few weeks for Android.

Source: The Official Google Blog

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Amazing

By Paj on 6/7/2012 7:48:46 AM , Rating: 3

If theres one thing that I remember made me think "This is the future", it was Google Earth back in 2005. Google Maps is an amazing piece of software, one of the main reasons I went with Android - I take my hat off to the engineers and designers who make it possible.