Explore the Venice canals with Google Street View
Having previously charted the terrain of hard-to-reach areas such as the Grand Canyon and Great Barrier Reef, Google has added another notch to its belt.
- Webby Award honoree, 2x Gold Telly Award winner
Thanks to the Google Trekker, places that are inaccessible by car can be captured and mapped in Street View. The Trekker's latest conquest? Venice, Italy, home to such famous sights as St Mark's Square, Rialto Bridge, and the Doge's Palace.
To capture the water city in all its glory, Google sent the Trekker out on foot, on gondolas, and on Venice's famed water taxi service, the vaporetto. Though Venice is renowned for its maze-like layout, the Street View implementation means you're never too far from a map to work out exactly where you are.
The Trekker is a 33-pound backpack that houses a spherical camera unit at the top. The sphere contains 15 cameras that capture 360-degree panoramas of locations, all controlled through an Android smartphone.
In all, the Trekker traveled 265 miles on foot and 114 miles on water, covering many of the 117 islands, including the colorful Burano.
Start exploring Venice through the eyes of Street View by clicking here.
(Source: CNET Australia)