Google shows Cartographer backpack to map indoor locations

Google has shown the Cartographer, a backpack full of hardware that the internet giant uses to shoot maps inside buildings for its Maps service. Google uses so-called slam technology.

According to Google, the Cartographer makes it possible to map the interior of a building in real time. The wearer of the backpack, to which a desktop PC is attached together with a camera, can view the images he takes live via an Android tablet.

The so-called slam technology is used to process the indoor images into map material. Slam, which stands for simultaneous localization and mapping, is used by robots, among other things, to map as yet unknown environments.

Google has used the Cartographer backpack, among other things, to show the Marriott Marquis hotel in San Francisco on Street View, as well as several museums. The search giant says it aims to map as many buildings as possible.