Google Takes on Interior Mapping. Maps San Diego Zoo!

This is exciting news, Google has mapped the inside of the San Diego Zoo.  This is the first of its kind for a zoo, and now, no mater where you’re from, you can take a look at the great collection of animals they have at the zoo.

The zoo, which is located in the Balboa Park area of San Diego, recently renovated its interior.  Even for someone who loves that zoo, getting around might be a challenge as they’ve renamed all their areas. There are new roads and paths.  They also rearranged old exhibits and brought in new ones.

You can see all of these changes on Google Maps Street View.  This interior mapping was done with Google’s new “Trike.”  The Trike is “a tricycle-mounted camera specifically designed to photograph and add previously inaccessible destinations.”  Here is the embed to that new feature and the San Diego Zoo:

This is both a logical and interesting development for Google.  From the perspective of strategy, it’s a smart move to start mapping both interiors as well as exteriors as other companies would inevitably start filling the void Google missed.

Until now, Michello, was the only major player working on interior mapping (updated: PointInside is also in this space).  Michello wants to make the world’s inside spaces including college campuses, shopping malls, retail stores, convention centers, airports and much more.

Even though Google has the Trike, Micello has a head start on the majority of interiors.  The company also has a free iPhone and iTouch mobile application: Micello Indoor Apps.  According to Read Write Web, Micello has over 750+ interiors mapped and are adding more.  Their goal is to have 5,000 interiors mapped by the end of 2010.