West Point grad Roy Ragsdale used eight cheap web-cams, a cheap GPS unit and his taxpayer-funded education to whip up the PhotoTrail, a home-brew camera that takes panoramas of his surroundings. Better yet, he tells how we can too.

You'll need a laptop, some open-source software, and some cleverness. Thankfully, you won't have to be as clever as Ragsdale, who tested his device by first walking around holding it over his head and then by mounting it on his Jeep and driving around the town of West Point. Ragsdale says he'll eventually get the device down to helmet or headband size, allowing you to document your hikes in great detail. Very, very cool. So get cracking out there, everyone. [Spectrum via Wired]

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