Google puts Singapore hawker centres on the map
Early next year, foodies can look forward to an upcoming feature on the Google Maps app where 114 hawker centres in Singapore will have their individual stalls marked with separate pins, showing their exact locations within the premises.
They can also use the in-app Street View feature to explore each hawker centre virtually and see the storefronts and signboards clearly. Previously, users could see only the exterior of hawker centres.
App users may also access information about each stall, including its name, stall number and photos.
Google will collect the internal images of hawker centres starting with Chinatown Market, Geylang Serai Market, Tekka Market, Maxwell Food Centre and Golden Mile Food Centre.
Google operators will travel on foot carrying the Street View Trekker, a seven 20-megapixel camera system mounted on a backpack that creates an immersive 360-degree panoramic view.
This follows Singapore's recent submission to inscribe the local hawker culture on the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Mr Amit Moya, Street View programme manager for Google Asia-Pacific, said the initiative will help engage more people in the digital age to get a glimpse of the fascinating hawker culture.
However, hawker food champion K.F. Seetoh told The New Paper that this initiative is not "compelling enough" to draw more people, especially tourists, to hawker centres.
"There has to be more storytelling and narrative involved. Pinpointing location and geography are not enough to attract more footfall to our hawker centres."
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