Google Street View puts camera on camel's back for Arabian desert tour

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Google Street View used an unconventional method to map the Liwa desert -- putting a camera on the back of a camel named Raffia.

The company mounted a Trekker pack camera on the hump of the camel to avoid disturbing the environment. The Trekker is used when there is a location Google Street car does not have access to due to physical, environmental or cultural restrictions. It is usually worn by humans, but a camel was better suited in this instance.

The new street view footage shows stunning panoramas of the desert. It offers a view of a place where few will probably go.

"To bring this stunning desert to Street View, we fashioned the Trekker [a special camera-equipped backpack] to rest on a camel, which gathered imagery as it walked. Using camels for the collection allowed us to collect authentic imagery and minimise our disruption of this fragile environment," said Google's Najeeb Jarrar.