Most of us have become accustomed to the amazing imagery of the world available on Google’s Street View, but a new site promises the same kind of virtual tourism from the aerial perspective of drones.

Launched back in April by Switzerland-based Jan Hiersemenzel, Travel By Drone is a site that harnesses the power of YouTube and Google Maps to allow you to explore the planet via recorded drone footage.

An interactive Google Map of the world features pins displaying logos that indicate that drone footage is available. By clicking on one of the pins, you’re immediately shown YouTube footage of the geographic area shot by a flying drone. You can search for specific cities and even selectfootage based on timeliness, as the site’s orange pins indicate drone footage shot in recent months.

Anyone with drone footage can add to the map by simply clicking on the “add video” link, after which the site reviews the footage for accuracy and quality.

“[T]he video needs to be taken by a drone (not of a drone), be of good quality and clearly show the area in which the drone flies,” reads the site’s guidelines. “A video will not be accepted if it is taken indoors, is from a military drone or is of promotional nature (promoting a product or has a political, religious or other personal message).”

Some of the areas are notable for having no drone coverage at all, including northern Africa, most of Russia, the northern region of South America and, of course, North Korea.

But despite a few major gaps in the site’s global drone coverage, this might be the best aggregation of geographically specific drone footage ever made available on the web.

 

Author: Adario Strange
Source: Mashable