How Google creatively maps terrain too tight for cars

- May 18, 2013 12:46 am

Skift Take

Google’s drivers may feel skiddish about squeezing into some of the tight places that require mapping so Google has rigged all kinds of contraptions to map places such as hiking trails in the Grand Canyon. Google’s quest to map the world is one of its most challenging — and rewarding — undertakings.

— Dennis Schaal

Most people know about the fleet of Google cars that go around filming streets.

But what about the submarines and the tricycles and the backpacks? At Google I/O this week, the company showed off the collection of off-road gear it uses to map the places the cars can’t go.