Gigapan is a kind of global connection projects through gigapixel photos and online communities like Microsoft's Photosynth. Gigapan project was desinged by Carnegie Mellon University, NASA/Ames Research Center, Google Corporation. Recently, they announced the beta version of Gigapan robot which enables a ordinary digital camera to take a giga-pixel photo.
Their ultimate goal is to bridge cultural divides by contributing to a global network of community images.
The description of the Gigapan project is as follows:
GigaPan is the newest development of the Global Connection Project, which aims to help us meet our neighbors across the globe, and learn about our planet itself. GigaPan will help bring distant communities and peoples together through images that have so much detail that they are, themselves, the objects of exploration, discovery and wonder. We believe that enabling people to explore, experience, and share each other's worlds can be a transforming experience. Our mission is to make all aspects of the GigaPan experience accessible and affordable to the broadest possible community.