Bushwalk Australia

Interesting article in Wired Magazine about Google's new doohicky backpack the Trekker which captures '3D images'. In the article they refer to it as lightweight but I'm skeptical - personally I will wait for the titanium / carbon fibre version.


Google intend to map 'everything' in 3D just like street viewer and are including hiking trails:

Luc Vincent, a Street View engineering director, recently took a Trekker with him on a ski trip in Tahoe, collecting images that could be used for Street View shots of the slopes. Of wearing the backpack while skiing, Vincent said, “It’s really not so bad. You’ve got to be a bit careful obviously, but, hey, it works.”

Google says only a handful of the backpacks currently exist, and unlike the other products it demoed Wednesday, the Trekker isn’t a consumer technology that anyone can try out for him or herself. The company plans on using the Trekkers to map out castles, ruins, hiking trails, and the Grand Canyon — places where wheeled vehicles and planes can’t go.

Looks like I can now ditch my compass and GPS and simply hike via my Android phone

...Beam me up Scottie.

Maybe we will get the virtual Overland Track soon..

I see the questions immediately... is the weather on the Overland Track always like that shown on Google Bush View?

'why' rather than 'why not', don't want them in my parks, how about you guys in yours?

Nuts I would tend toward 'why not'. I reckon if I lost the ability or means to walk along the tracks I would appreciate these photos.. plus its not like they are taking away the wilderness away. I think the real wild places will still be well off any track that google will reach.

Looking forward to checking out the john Muir trail if they do that one!

Agree re: the weather..

Nick S wrote:Nuts I would tend toward 'why not'. I reckon if I lost the ability or means to walk along the tracks I would appreciate these photos.. plus . I think the real wild places will still be well off any track that google will reach...

Good point ..and always a dilemma along with guidebooks, tours etc.. does there ever need to be a line drawn?


'its not like they are taking away the wilderness away'.. isn't it?

Time to hang the boots up and put the pack away then? Gen Y's would love the virtual walk. Walk the trail on the iphone. Seriously though - I love using google earth for trip planning. The added detail, if it's anything like street view will be amazing.

Found this item and link in the NZ Herald. Somebody has videoed 130km – yes every meter - of the walk.

"Web Hike lets you hike through the Swiss Alps without leaving your chair. This is a fantastic virtual trip that'll blow your mind. Taken from the perspective of the hike, the only sounds you hear are the footsteps. There are 10 stages that cover 130 kilometers of hiking, from Thusis (Switzerland) to Tirano (Italy). It all happens in real time, so it would take you days to hike the entire Alps, but you can scroll through the footage and see the highlight. (click on the red bar with the yak on it and scroll along)."

http://www.webwandern.ch/etappen

New technology like this is a double edged sword IMO, it allows less experienced folk to access areas they may otherwise not feel comfortable with if they only had GPS / compass. The flip side is potentially less 'secrecy' of sensitive areas and more risk to said novices if their technology fails them; imagine the real trail not matching up to the 'virtual' one, or a tech failure - can you now navigate your way back out ? Or perhaps we've already had this discussion when GPS was released

Will be interesting to see how long it takes before more obscure trails are virtually 'mapped' and particularly if these devices become ubiquitous. I'm thinking the likes of go-pro cameras with GPS capability, or maybe they already exist ?

tomh wrote:Found this item and link in the NZ Herald. Somebody has videoed 130km – yes every meter - of the walk.

"Web Hike lets you hike through the Swiss Alps without leaving your chair. This is a fantastic virtual trip that'll blow your mind. Taken from the perspective of the hike, the only sounds you hear are the footsteps. There are 10 stages that cover 130 kilometers of hiking, from Thusis (Switzerland) to Tirano (Italy). It all happens in real time, so it would take you days to hike the entire Alps, but you can scroll through the footage and see the highlight. (click on the red bar with the yak on it and scroll along)."

http://www.webwandern.ch/etappen

Fascinating to dip into this with stereo headphones and full screen video!
The next step no doubt is 3D and then virtual reality immersive wilderness experiences - mud and weather free

...and choppered out, if you got in trouble? "Walker choppered out after choking on burger!"