Cape Town, December 10: Google SA has unveiled the Google Street View Trike in Cape Town and invited South Africans to register their businesses for free on Street View, in time for the 2010 World Cup.
Google Street View (first launched in the US in 2007) is a special feature of Google Maps and Google Earth that allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images, which are collected by Google Trikes (three-wheeled bicycles) and Toyota Prius cars (both fitted with hitech 360 degree cameras).
On Wednesday a small group of journalists got to see the strange looking Google Trike up close at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The 115kg vehicle has 3 bicycle wheels, a mounted Street View camera and a specially decorated box containing image-collecting gadgets. It also comes with a very athletic cyclist to power it, which makes it environmentally friendly.
(To be honest, the trike kind of looks like an ice cream van, as a group of eager schoolkids who visited the Kirstenbosch Gardens confirmed, when they shouted “Ice Cream!”)
FIFA 2010 World Cup
Google started collecting images of SA’s major cities and popular tourist attractions since September 2009. This collection of images will eventually be processed and carefully stitched together.
Though the final editing process can take several months, Google has promised that the maps will be finished and uploaded before the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
“Google Street View is the ideal tool to showcase South Africa to the world, ahead of the World Cup,” says Stephen Newton, Head of Google South Africa.
“It will not only make South Africa more accessible both to locals and to international visitors, but also give tourists a taste of the variety that the country offers, and a chance to research their holidays in advance.”
According to Newton, Street View is a great platform both locally and internationally which people can also access from their cellphones.
“People interested in visiting a town can to take a virtual tour, for example, and check out local restaurants, accommodation, entertainment spots, the nearest banks, convenient parking and more.”
—Agencies