The Faroe Islands Have Found A Genius Way To Create Their Own Google Street View
Faroe Islanders want to get Google to map their archipelago for Street View – but in the meantime they’ve found a sheepish alternative (sorry).
You mightn’t have even heard of the Faroe Islands, but that’s OK – it’s a little off the radar. It’s actually a collection of 18 minuscule islands in the north Atlantic, north-west of the UK between Iceland and Norway. It’s a place that looks like this year round… no biggie.
As you can see, the Faroe Islands have some of the most beautiful roads in the world – but there’s a problem. Unlike virtually everywhere else on the European continent, these islands don’t exist on Google Street View.
So, taking matters in their own hands, Faroe Islanders have set up their own version of Street View: Sheep View 360. With the help of a local shepherd, they’ve placed 360º cameras on the back of local sheep who roam and graze across the open hillsides of the picturesque Faroe Islands. Images from the cameras, which are solar powered, are transmitted back to base, where they’re uploaded on the web.
The result? Take a look for yourself.
[media_embed]https://youtu.be/ywdqiyoQNgQ[/media_embed](Pssst: watch it on your phone to do that cool 360 thing)
It’s totally mad, but makes more sense when you know the whole story. The idea was concocted by Durita Dahl Andreassen of Visit Faroe Islands, who has fitted five of the island’s sheep with a specialised camera.
[media_embed]https://youtu.be/P2lclIm_gtA[/media_embed]Durita is petitioning to get Google to bring their Street View feature to the Faroe Islands using the hashtag #wewantgooglestreetview. While it’s unknown whether Google will actually map out The Faroe Islands in the near future, Sheep View sure is making us want to make a detour the next time we’re in Scandinavia. Just look at this place.
(Lead image: Visit Faroe Islands)
