Google hikes the Grand Canyon for Google Maps

Internet search giant Google is going where no vehicle has gone before to capture the majesty of the Grand Canyon in the state of Arizona in the US by using backpack-mounted cameras to film the vistas for its Google Maps service.

Google’s Street View team is using the Trekker – a wearable backpack with a camera system on top – to traverse the Grand Canyon and capture 360-degree images of the landscape, which will soon be available on Google Maps.

“The narrow ridges and steep, exposed trails of the Grand Canyon provide the perfect terrain for our newest camera system. The Trekker – which its operator controls via an Android phone and automatically gathers photos as he walks – enables the collection of high-quality imagery from places that are only accessible on foot,” Ryan Falor, product manager, Google Street View, wrote on the Google Official Blog.

This week, photos are being gathered from portions of the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park, including the ridge, the Bright Angel Trail, South Kaibab Trail and more, Falor wrote.

^{Ryan Falor, product manager, Google Street View, controls the Trekker with his Android device. Image via Google Official Blog}