Google Unleashes New Batch of Picturesque Images from The Street View Trike

Google has just published a great new batch of images for Street View. Unlike most updates though, these images have been taken by Street View trikes rather than cars, in places where cars can't go or aren't allowed. Images captured by the trikes have been trickling in, but this is one of the biggest updates yet.

"Street View enables you to visit places around the world virtually, from the scenic Champs-Elysées in Paris to bustling Times Square in New York City," Jeremy Pack, Software Engineer, wrote.

"We’re able to collect imagery of most of these places with a car, but when we find an interesting place that a car can't reach, we get more creative," he added.

For these sort of places, Google has the Street View trike, a huge contraption which needs an athlete to power it, but which can go into small alleys, gardens, running trails, university campuses and so on.

"In 2009 we introduced the Trike, a modified bicycle outfitted with Street View equipment, to visit these locations, from towering castles to picturesque gardens," Pack explained.

"The Trike team has been pedaling around the world, and today we’ve added more of these unique places to Street View in Google Maps," he announced.

At 250 pounds and 9 feet long, it's not exactly a light sprinter, but all the camera equipment, storage and other hardware along with a generator to power all of it adds a lot of weight to the frame.

Some of the locations that are now explorable in Street view include the Château de Chenonceaux in Civray-de-Touraine, France, and the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin.

Google is already working on adding more interesting locations and owners can opt to have their place added to Street View via the partner program. Already, places like Stonehenge, Loch Ness and even amusement parks have been included this way.