To advance its Street View service this summer, Google is poised to unleash the power of human legs.
This summer, Google will deploy bikes mounted with its 360-degree Street View cameras to map areas of Britain inaccessible by its fleet of Street View cars.
The so-called Google Trike, which the company describes "a mechanical masterpiece comprising three bicycle wheels, a mounted Street View camera and a very athletic cyclist in customised Google apparel", will arrive in the UK to make some "special image collections".
It will be up to the public to tell Google — via a vote — which locations should be photographed. There are five categories to choose from, picked by VisitBritain: castles, coastal paths, natural wonders, historic buildings, and monuments and stadiums.
"Users will be able to virtually tour castles or monuments before visiting, or check out which side of a football stadium they need to be on before leaving the house," a Google spokeswoman told CNET UK. "They will be added to the Street View tool in the same way as existing images."
