Google has announced a new partnership with Discovery working on a VR-oriented video series intended to provide viewers with a unique and immersive look at each of the world’s continents. The series, called TRVLR, isn’t just another documentary series, however. Rather than focusing solely on locations, environment, and VR exploration, the pair has used Google’s own Jump camera platform and are redirecting focus to the people living at the locations the series will explore. The series itself is compatible with Daydream headsets or with one of the many ever-popular Google Cardboard setups available online. That means that it should be fairly accessible for just about anybody who really wants to check it out. In the meantime, anybody who is interested can find the series on either YouTube or through the Discovery VR application – which can be found through the Google Play Store button below – right now.
With regard to TRVLR itself, new episodes will be released on a weekly basis and the first is already available for viewing as of November 3. As mentioned above, the partnership will eventually result in content recorded from all over the world but the first episode takes users to Auckland, New Zealand. While there, they’ll be exploring the region’s cave systems through the eyes of those people living in the region. Chapters planned for the near future will include content exploring Mexico City, Hanoi, Yerevan, La Paz, and Cape Town. Each of those locations will feature its own unique story from the perspective of a local.
It goes without saying that this partnership with Discovery to bring users the TRVLR series is not the first foray Google has directly made into the creation of VR content for its platforms or using its Jump cameras. Instead, it really represents just the latest in a string of announcements Google has made in support of its VR products and services. Among other recently announced projects is a web-VR-based Mars exploration program called Access Mars. Prior to that, the company joined forces with Vogue to give users a first-hand look inside the closets of supermodels through the aptly named Supermodel Closets series. With that said, Discovery has more than 35 years of experience in creating this kind of content so it is almost certainly worth a look for anybody interested in travel.