Google Street View Uses Pedal-Powered Tricycles to Film Locations Inaccessible by Car
Google's famous street view mapping service that allows users to take a virtual walk on the roads of major cities is getting ready to extend its reach this summer with the launch of the Google Trike. In order to film areas of that are unreachable by its car fleet like famous landmarks or piers, Google has created the trike - a pedal-powered tricycle equipped with the same 360 degree camera mounted on the company's Street View cars. Not exactly the high-tech solution you'd expect from a company like Google, but on the other hand it's as environmentally friendly as it gets.
The Google Trike project will kick off in Italy with the United Kingdom following latter on in the summer. In the UK, Google has joined forces with Visit Britain to launch an online poll to find which famous landmarks and locations should be first included on Street View. Users can choose their top 3 locations from five categories - Castles, Coastal paths, Natural Wonders, Historic Buildings & Monuments and (Sports).