In June of last year, Google announced a partnership with the UK's Canal & River Trust to help users plan for more relaxing and leisurely routes. Specifically, the search giant was to start mapping the UK's rivers and canals in the hope that people will start using them more. The updated Google Maps would allow users to plan journeys that incorporate locks, bridges and towpaths along the UK's 2,000 miles of river paths. Now, Google has turned its attention to getting the canals on Street View.
The UK's Canal & River Trust this week announced that it had gotten a lend of one of Google's Trekker backpacks. These are the backpack-mounted Google Street View cameras that Google uses to capture hard to access areas for its Street View application. The pack measures 4ft tall and is fitted with a 15-angle lens camera that snaps photos every 2.5 seconds. The Canal & River Trust will spend a month walking the 40lb Trekker over 100 miles to capture footage of some of the UK's most scenic waterway locations.
"We're delighted to be the first people in the UK to get the Trekker on our backs – it’s fantastic that our 200-year old network is being given a different lease of life thanks to cutting edge, 21st-century technology," said Wendy Hawk, corporate partnerships manager of the Canal & River Trust. "The footage we get will allow millions of people from all over the world to see our canals, rivers and towpaths, and will hopefully encourage some people to make a trip to see them."
