The Google street camera was originally mounted to a van and driven around the streets. But for more remote, hard-to-reach places they now use a backpack that a person can walk with, called the Trekker. This means that Google photos can be taken of any terrain that can only be traveled by foot — provided the person doing the traveling is able to withstand the backpack’s 40-pound weight.
"Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive and accurate and useful map possible," Deanna Yick, Google Maps' Street View Program Manager, told Tech Insider, "so that Google Maps is a mirror of the real world."
“It’s not just about pretty pictures and giving people a sense of what things are like,” Yick continued. “We’re using this imagery for conservation, historical purposes, learning, and education.”
You can apply to borrow the Trekker to take on your own travels by checking out this page and filling out the form. Be warned though, Google Street View photographers have to be "very fit individuals," Yick says, because they'll be on their feet for long stretches of time, often while wearing the 40-pound Trekker backpacks. Would you like to give it a try?
Photographers get training at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, before they head out to shoot photos.
While Google Street View is still used mainly for navigation and orienting oneself with an area, Yick hopes people will continue using it as a place for exploration as well.
"People are comfortable using it as a day-to-day tool for navigation, but it's so much more than that," she said. "The fact that I can use Google Maps and hop into the Pyramids of Egypt without a plane or a new language — it's really exciting."
"What we've found is just because the road ends doesn't mean there's not more interesting stuff to see."
"That's where the good stuff is — off the beaten path."
