NEW YORK: Google has already captured millions of miles of roads with its Street View cameras, but its latest project has proven to be one of the most challenging yet.
The Silicon Valley giant has mapped out Mongolia with its 360-degree cameras, but the task was far from simple.
Vast sections of the trip were off-road, with the camera-equipped pick-up truck trundling over vast steppes and frozen lakes.
But there were some areas which were too tough even for Google’s all-terrain vehicle.
Deep in Mongolia’s wild expanses, a Mongolian trekker called Ariuntuul strapped the 18kg Street View camera kit onto her back.
And at Khuvsgul Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in Asia, the team trekked across its frozen surface on a horse-drawn sled, providing breathtaking views of Mongolia’s unforgiving landscape.
The truck had to cross a ramshackle makeshift bridge over a tributary of the Yeruu River as it continued its 3,100-mile journey.
Other rivers didn’t even have bridges, and Google’s team had to drive on to rickety barges to reach the other side.
There were some spots where breaking down would have been potentially catastrophic – including on parts of the remote Gobi Desert.
After mapping swathes of the Western world with its Street View cameras since 2007, Google is becoming more adventurous with where it sends its 360-degree cameras.
It has now mapped out remote islands, the Pyramids of Giza, and the Amazon jungle.
