Google’s ‘Trekker’ gives new view of Melbourne

Is it a jetpack? The latest hipster accessory? No this is Google’s “trekker”, and it’s bringing some of Melbourne’s most popular sites to the world.

Camera operator Matt with the "Trekker" Google's street view camera, taking in Melbourne’s iconic laneways. Picture: Jason Edwards

ONE thousand, eight hundred. That is the average number of panoramic photographs Matt can take in one hour.

It may seem like a lot, but for this Google worker, it is just a regular day at work.

Matt’s job is to walk Melbourne’s streets with an 18kg Google Trekker on his back, capturing images for the company’s Street View feature.

Cameras mounted on this hi-tech ‘backpack’ sit half a metre above his head and all point in different directions.

As Matt makes his daily, 12km trips through Melbourne’s iconic laneways, these cameras take a picture nearly every two seconds.

He walks 12km through Melbourne every day. Picture: Jason Edwards

But it doesn’t just capture photographs, Google Street View Program Manager Cynthia Wei said it often captures peoples’ attention instead, with curious passers-by stopping to ask questions.

“There are some wild guesses as to what it actually is before we can explain — my favourite being, ‘is that a jetpack?’” Wei said.

For the record the answer to that question is no, but lack of flying abilities aside, the device still does important work.

Matt’s pack weighs 18kg. Picture: Jason Edwards

Wei described the Trekker’s photos as the “cornerstone” of Google’s Street View, with the different shots combining to produce a continuous image.

The Trekker “enables us to create an immersive 360-degree panoramic view”, Wei said.

It is one of the reasons you can ‘walk’ down a street on Google Maps, while lying on the couch at home.

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The Trekker is mostly used in areas a Google Street View Car, which has cameras mounted to its roof, cannot access.

For Tom, that means walking many kilometres through our city’s laneways, malls and sporting stadiums.

If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of the Trekker yourself, it will be in Melbourne until the end of the year.