Google Trekker Program Allows Off-Road Street View, Invites Available

Google has begun accepting applications for its Street View Trekker program, which gives volunteers a backpack camera to capture panoramic images from exotic locales around the world. The Mountain View, Calif., company’s Street View program captures 360-degree views using special camera technology that allows users of Google Maps to get ground-level perspectives of what they see online.

invitations to join its Street View Trekker program, where a backpack camera captures panoramic images from exotic locales around the world. The Mountain View, Calif., company’s Street View program captures 360-degree views using a special camera technology, allowing users of Google Maps to get a ground-level perspective.

In a similar manner to how Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Street View vans travel the streets of cities and neighborhoods around the world, the Trekker backpack program adapts the 360-degree-capturing camera into a wearable backpack. Google is allowing select third-party companies to photograph hikes on mountainous terrain or other exciting places off the beaten path, and interested parties can sign up here.

The Google Trekker backpack weighs 42 pounds and contains 15 digital cameras to create its signature panorama. The 5-megapixel cameras snap a photo 24 times a minute, while two GPS receivers log location data, which the Trekker stores on solid state drives, or SSDs. The Trekker backpack’s dual lithium batteries last for eight hours.

Google’s Street View Trekker backpack is currently only available on loan to third-party organizations such as tourism boards, nonprofits and higher-education groups. If you could, where would you take the Trekker?