Faroe Islands fit cameras to sheep to create their own Google Street View
Tired of waiting for Google, the Faroe Islanders have created Sheep View 360
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Google’s Street View has managed to visit and capture many remote parts of the world, but the 18 tiny islands in the North Atlantic that make up the Faroe Islands isn’t one of them and the Faroe islanders are tired of waiting.
One islander in particular, Durita Dahl Andreassen, has decided to take matters into her own hands and create her own version of Street View – Sheep View 360.
Enlisting a team of helpers that includes a local shepherd and an engineer to create a harness, Durita says that she “gently placed a 360˚ camera, powered by a solar panel” on five of the island’s sheep.
As the sheep walk around the islands grazing, the images captured by the camera are sent back to Andreassen’s phone with GPS co-ordinates which she then uploads herself to Google Street View.
So far the sheep have taken panoramic images of five different locations, as well as 360-degree videos.
The project is a good way to attract tourist attention to the Faroe Islands, but it’s also part of a legitimate effort to get Google to visit the archipelago and finish mapping it with their official Trekkers and cars.
Considering the islands have a population of 80,000 sheep and 49,188 humans, the project isn’t short of helpers but using sheep does have its limitations.
In a call for more help Andreassen says, “My sheep are great for capturing the tracks and trails of the Faroe Islands, but in order to cover the big sweeping Faroese roads and the whole of the breath-taking landscapes, we need Google to come and map them.”
A petition has been launched on the Visit Faroe Islands website and uses the hashtag #wewantgooglestreetview.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments