Several mapping services are using trekkers, also known as mapping backpacks, to photograph certain areas of cities that are usually not accessible by car during 2025, according to reports and press releases from various American, European, and Asian media outlets. They are generally used to photograph historic areas or monuments.
We previously reported on the deployment of Google Trekkers in several residential areas of Dubai, as well as the port of Funchal in Madeira, but based on more recent reports, the sighting of these cameras in cities in South America and South Asia has been confirmed. Additionally, Apple Maps teams are making significant progress on mapping projects in India and the Balkans, where monuments and certain parks are being photographed using backpacks.
Apple Look Around
South Asia
It is interesting to see how Apple’s Look Around project has expanded to include trekkers photographing Bodh Gaya (Devanagari: बोधगया), one of the most important religious sites for Buddhism and home to several historic temples recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
A month ago, we reported that Apple was collaborating with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to photograph certain monuments in some states. According to the official list provided by the Apple Maps website, they had begun photographing part of the Mahabodhi Temple.
Eastern Europe
The Apple Maps subdivision in the Balkans has made significant progress in integrating several territories in the region, but now the project is moving on to its next phase, which involves taking photographs using backpacks. For the time being, Apple has been interested in using these cameras to photograph parts of the sidewalks in Sarajevo and Tirana.
Throughout 2025, Apple and Google have been trying to photograph much of the Balkan Peninsula, one of the few areas in the world where two Western services are competing to increase their user base.
Because most of the countries in the region are not part of the European Union, they have not been a top priority for US-based mapping companies. But things have changed considerably in recent years, and the economies of these countries are becoming increasingly integrated with the rest of the continent, which has caught the attention of international companies such as Apple and Google.
Baidu Panorama
It is not only Western companies that want to map part of the world in this way. According to information provided through interviews with operators in Sichuan, there are plans to use trekkers to photograph certain areas in Chengdu for the “Baidu Panorama” service (百度全景 / Pinyin: Bǎidù Quánjǐng).
Due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities on Western companies, services such as Google Street View and Apple Look Around are not available in the country. In the case of Google, the Chinese government has allowed the company to photograph some historical monuments using tripods as part of its initiatives to digitize part of Asia’s cultural heritage.
But that doesn’t mean China doesn’t have similar services. Several domestic companies have obtained approval to photograph large parts of the country.
We previously reported on Baidu’s progress a few days ago, following the arrival of vehicles in Hong Kong. It is interesting to see how an Asian company is making headway in a market traditionally saturated by Western companies.
It should be noted that the video was filmed by Sichuan blogger Industry Detective Da Biao (行业探长大彪) in winter but was recently published on Chinese social media. The video consisted of an interview with one of the Baidu Panorama operators in Sichuan. It documented in detail the process of taking images in Jinmen Scenic Area (锦门).
Google Street View
South America
“It has a plastic protective cover. It has two batteries underneath, […]. The battery lasts for approximately 7 to 8 hours in total.“
– Leonardo Esquivel, argentine trekker operator during an interview with Municipal Radio of Florencio Valencia (August 4, 2025)
Google has begun deploying Trekkers in several cities in the Southern Cone, from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Santiago in Chile. This is the first time that the Google Maps team has used Gen 4 Trekkers in the Chilean capital.
Google Chile had previously announced the arrival of Gen 4 Trekkers at an event promoted by Waze last year. However, it was only now that they decided to use it to photograph sidewalks in Santiago.
South East Asia
From residential areas in Bangkok (กรุงเทพมหานคร) to the historic center in Bandung (ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ), including areas adjacent to Braga Street (Jalan Braga / ᮏᮜᮔ᮪ ᮘᮢᮌ), which features traditional colonial architecture developed during the 1920s.
The project also caught the attention of the local press in Malaysia, such as the Daily Express, which reported sightings of Google Trekker in Bukit Bintang, one of Kuala Lumpur’s largest commercial districts.
East Asia
It is interesting to see how the Google Maps team is carrying out the project in Hong Kong. At the end of 2023, vehicles were last seen travelling through this territory. But recently, netizens have spotted trekkers in Kowloon as well as parks and stations.
