Google Street View goes off-roading

Google's Street View trike is hitting the road throughout the U.S., and the company is seeking your input as to where it will go next.

In the past, Google Maps' Street View has largely restricted your virtual trips to spots accessible by car. But the company's trike, a 250-pound tricycle outfitted with GPS and a camera that looks like a submarine periscope, can virtually take you places you can't drive--anywhere from a school campus to a theme park.

To help its cyclists go where no trike has gone before, Google needs your help in deciding where it should travel next.

The company is asking you to vote on the locations you'd most like to see from among six categories:

1. Parks & trails
2. University campuses
3. Theme parks & zoos
4. Pedestrian malls (i.e. outdoor shopping areas, boardwalks)
5. Landmarks
6. Sports venues (i.e. golf courses, racing tracks, stadium grounds)

You have until October 28 to cast your vote at Google.com/trike. Google will then pick a winner for each category and send its trike cyclists on their mission.

The trike was initially launched as a 20 percent project by Daniel Ratner, a senior mechanical engineer on Google's Street View team.

"I began thinking about building a bicycle-based Street View system after realizing how many interesting places around the world--ranging from historic landmarks to beautiful trails to shopping districts--aren't accessible by car," said Ratner in a statement. "When I'm riding the trike, so many people come up to me and ask where it's off to next or how they can get imagery of their favorite spot, so I can't wait to see what our users come up with."

Google already offered a similar vote in the U.K. in May. Now it's the U.S.'s turn to pick its favorite virtual spots.

[Pete Bardo]

I can tell Google where to go!

[badmojo42]

:)

[Chili_Pepr]

Have the Google bike take this trail:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56kJ99AvfoI

[dadsgravy]

Schools? make sure you get lots of shots of the football team.

[kojacked]

Have them hike the Appalachian Trail. I've always wanted to see pictures of Argentina in Google maps. :)

[Demolition]

I wonder if these trike riders ever get stopped by people looking for ice cream. :-)

[dannosliwcd]

Sounds like a dangerous job. Wasn't there an occasion where a street-view driver ran into a bunch of people protesting against it in the last 3 years or so? Sure, nobody got violent, but imagine some jerk throwing a stick through his front spokes because he doesn't want to be on a google database (even though he probably freely distributes his personal information on multiple social media websites, anyways).

[erikzimm]

Hands down, they need to Google Street View all the ski resorts in the country (with snow on the slopes, of course).