One of SA's World Heritage sites, the Sterkfontein Caves, is due to be added to Street View in coming months, says Google.
Street View is a feature of Google Earth and Google Maps that provides a panoramic view from a row of positions along streets for many areas in the world.
Google and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) have agreed to add imagery of World Heritage sites to Street View, with images of 19 Unesco sites being made available. These include locations in Czech Republic, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The 360-degree images can now be explored online, confirms Google.
In addition, Google and Unesco have introduced layers for Google Earth and Google Maps, with customised icons and information bubbles. They allow Web users to locate and zoom to World Heritage sites around the globe.
Google says it will continue to work with Unesco to select additional World Heritage landmarks, in countries where Street View imagery is being collected.
“It's hoped that putting Unesco's World Heritage sites on Street View will help increase awareness and encourage participation by people around the world in the preservation of our cultural and natural heritage,” says Google.
The Internet giant explains that it uses cameras attached to the roof of a car in order to collect these images. They are then processed, stitched together and put into Google Maps. Where access by car is not possible, Google uses its custom-made 'trike' - a three-wheeled bike mounted with a camera - to take the images. It will soon be used to collect imagery of the Sterkfontein Caves in SA.
"World Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. It reminds us of the extraordinary world we live in, and humanity's creative genius and cultural diversity,” says Francesco Bandarin, director of Unesco's World Heritage Centre.
Share