Despite the company’s work at the cutting edge of technology, it seems that Google retains an appreciation for the simpler things in life as well.
The camel, reportedly named Raffia, has become the first animal to carry Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Trekker camera, which is used to capture images of locations which are inaccessible to Street View cars.
Google employs Camel: A fitting solution
Raffia the camel was sent out into the sands of the Liwa Oasis, a 62-mile scenic desert southeast of Abu Dhabi, which is home to some of the world’s biggest sand dunes.
Google spokeswoman Monica Baz claims that the camel was the best way of capturing the oasis.
“With every environment and every location, we try to customize the capture and how we do it for that part of the environment,” she told The National newspaper.
“In the case of Liwa we fashioned it in a way so that it goes on a camel so that it can capture imagery in the best, most authentic and least damaging way,” Baz continued.
A series of Google Street View Treks
Google Street View was launched in 2007 to enable people around the globe explore cities from their homes.
The Liwa Oasis is the latest in a series of locations that Google has explored using the Trekker camera. Previous locations include the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, the Eiffel Tower, the Egyptian pyramids and the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Those who want to explore the deep blue sea can get their fix by following the Trek around the waters of the Galapagos islands.
Since its inception Google’s Street View project has captured a lot of strange scenes.
A Street View car apparently captured the scene of an ax murder, but it later transpired that it was a prank set up by auto mechanics who had seen the car approaching.
A further hoax was carried out by a woman who pretended to be giving birth at the side of the road.
