Google Inc yesterday confirmed that it has taken photographs of Kinmen County in an effort to expand the coverage of its panoramic street-level images, Street View.
However, the US Internet service specialist declined to reveal how many scenic spots on Kinmen it has shot or its schedule for including the pictures on its Street View service.
An operator was seen in Kinmen last week carrying Google’s Street View “Trekker” — the compact backpack version of its Street View vehicle — and taking pictures of the island’s historic Jyuguang Tower, a structure that is accessible only on foot.
A Google Street View car was also seen driving through Kinmen’s downtown areas and past the eponymous Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor distillery.
Google uses its new Trekker camera to shoot images of scenic spots that its other devices have a hard time reaching.
The company has put cameras on vehicles such as cars, bicycles and trolleys to help capture Taiwan’s street views, and has achieved 90 percent coverage of the nation to date.
However, the smaller Trekker device is being introduced to expand the service’s coverage to locations accessible only on foot, and a contractor has been hired to handle the project, the company said.
According to Google’s Web site, the Trekker is operated by an Android device and consists of 15 lenses angled in different directions so images can be stitched together into 360° panoramic views, which will be featured on the Google Maps service.
The company said earlier this month that it had taken pictures of more than 10 hard-to-access scenic locations in Taiwan with the Trekker backpack camera.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost