Google street view can already show you the best way to get to the movies and let you wander around Antarctica, but soon the map service will let you cruise through the Amazon rainforest. Though there are few roads in the region, Google’s surveyors have already begun exploring the region by both boat and bike.
Headed by Google and in conjunction with the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, the project is less about navigation and more about introducing the world to the unique cultures and natural wonders of the Amazon region. Looking for the people to best show it off to the world, Google turned to local denizens who were given special camera-equipped tricycles to pedal around the places they call home. Unlike other streetview projects, this one will also include the interiors of some buildings to give outsiders a sense of what these communities are like.
Of course, the Amazon has been the subject of countless documentaries and television specials before. However, presenting the region through a service like Google Street View seems to demystify it somewhat. It will surely still be thought-provoking and breath-taking, but it will be presented the same way as your local town. Forget the vacation, I’m just parking myself in front of Google Maps.
(Google via Geek.com, image via Google)
Published: Aug 19, 2011 05:25 pm