Google StreetView has been given a new website, which gives more of an insight into how the technology works and just how much of the world has been pictured by the Google car, trike and snowmobile.
The website states: "Explore the world at street level" and shows off highlights of the seven continents that have been visually mapped by StreetView.
Most importantly though, we finally get a little history on the eponymous Pegman.
So, how did he get his name? Well, according to Google: "Pegman's name comes from the fact that he is shaped like a clothes peg."
Er, okay, maybe the history of Pegman isn't that riveting.
Street talk
But we do also get some insight into the transport used by Google.
According to the site, the car was first: "When we first started Street View as an experimental project, we packed several computers into the back of an SUV, stuck cameras, lasers, and a GPS device on top."
The StreetView trike was second: "One day while mountain biking, Mechanical Engineer Dan Ratner realized he could combine his favourite hobby with StreetView to explore new places."
And the snowmobile is the latest vehicle: "In typical Google fashion, [our snowmobile] was put together over the course of a few weekends using some 2x4s, duct tape, and extra hard drives wrapped in ski jackets to last through the freezing conditions."
Google StreetView may be primed for the privacy police to pick apart, but we have to admit that its new website is a decent sneak peek through the Google curtain.
Via Digital Trends
