Apple Expands 'Maps Ground Truth' Hiring to Rest of the World

[bbeagle]

Curious. Where is this place with the signs were completely blurry and shadowed?

Pretty much every location you search.

For example, go here:
10817 Northwest Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, United States

You can't even read 'speed limit' on the 'speed limit 35' sign. And the number '35' is questionable. Only because I know it's a number, I know what it is. The no parking sign below it is bad, the sign across from the speed limit sign is unreadable.

That's just one I found in my first random search. I typed in 'Kansas City, MO' and moved north about 100 yards.

 

[Oohara]

"Ground Truth" sounds scary.

 

[macsrcool1234]

So let me get this straight, one of the biggest criticisms of Apple has been it's accuracy and they are just now looking to hire people to approve changes?

No wonder Apple Map sucks.

 

[supercoolmanchu]

The TRUTH Apple?

The TRUTH is your maps are subpar to Google Maps.

I dunno, when I'm in the car (which is often here in the greater Los Angeles area), Apple Maps are a huge improvement and load way way faster over cellular data than Google's. Traffic information is much better as well, Google is always slow to change and misses a fair amount of pesky congestion.

I guess if your walking around, stopping to study details on the satellite/street views, then you might prefer Google Maps, but for driving and getting around California, Apple Maps destroy the Poodle. Most times, I don't even look at the screen, Siri does all the interfacing.

 

[sputnikv]

apple maps says that there is a pizza restaurant in an empty grass park across the street from me. i've reported the error over and over again since maps was released. obviously they must be overwhelmed with map errors still, yet even the satellite image shows nothing but grass- i genuinely don't think they're using user generated error reports to help fix their maps

 

[writingdevil]

Google has already got a license to have Driverless cars in Nevada. The catch right now is that 2 people have got to be in the car but it's already happening. Only a matter of time before states allow nobody in the car.

I don't know if you live in the US or not but I'm willing to bet you won't see driverless cars on public streets for a very long time, if ever. On a farm, private corp grounds, amusement parks, movies, especially fantasies...sure. Public roads...now that's real fantasy.

 

[robjulo]

Shouldn't this have been done a very long time ago?


On second thought, some here claim the maps are great, better than google, so why are these jobs even needed?

 

[Plutonius]

My preference would be for Apple to continue using Google maps. I was used to having the best maps on my iphone, and when apple maps replaced it, well that was probably the worst software release I have ever experienced.

As a Apple fan, I hate apple maps. I just cannot see Apple catching upto Google maps like android has to iOS. Time will tell I guess

Where are you located ? I find Apple Maps to be very good in the US (outside the US is a different story).

 

[avanpelt]

They need to hire tens of thousands of drivers to get in cars that are outfitted with cameras and other sensors and have those people actually drive around like Google did. Somehow, I doubt that's what they're planning to do, but I hope I'm wrong.

I have a bad feeling they're going to hire a bunch of people to sit in cubicles and look at mind-numbing databases full of POIs and somehow cross-verify the database entries with some other "master" list or map.

 

[Karma*Police]

Great, more clueless posts and trolls.

Mapping the world is no small task. Even Google relies on 3rd parties for some of their data, and after 9 years, it's still laughably bad in many areas.

And unless someone finds some amazing new technology that can keep tabs on every road, business and residence, and updates maps in real time, there will be no such thing as a perfect maps app.

Apple's first attempt was actually quite good, despite the media pounding it into the ground to make a quick buck. The UI alone is far better than Google maps and turn by turn is already superior in many ways. It's a version 1 product that saw some solid improvements already, and it'll only get better with time.

Where are all those "competition is good!" posters?

 

[SoAnyway]

Pretty cool stuff.

 

[maxosx]

I dunno, when I'm in the car (which is often here in the greater Los Angeles area), Apple Maps are a huge improvement and load way way faster over cellular data than Google's.

I will say that yes Apple maps have improved. However I drive all over Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. I still experience far better speed, accuracy and usefulness with Google Maps.

Not only does Apple still have plenty of room for improvement, the hair brain idea someone had to offer more than one route to the same destination really mucks things up. Especially on the very tiny iPhone 5 screen.

Thankfully I have really gorgeous Note II that makes Google Maps really stand out. Between that and the excellent Nav system in my car, I don't bother with Apple maps.

 

[paulbeattie87]

For me Apple would win points if they would fix the numerous locations around me that do not exist or are missing. Entire towns are missing in Apple Maps causing the locations in there to go all over the place, it's ridiculous. Still I reported these at launch and nothing has been done to fix it. The local military base has turned into an airport, towns have moved into the sea, major roads are missing and businesses are all wrong. Also curiously for the UK the map colours are all wrong and icons are incorrect e.g. rail, I sense a little pompousness there making everything US colours.

Comparison to Google I found a closed location one day, reported it and checked back a few days later and it had been removed. Great.

For me Apple Maps still suck and I wouldn't recommend using them to anyone, Maps has been resigned to the "Apple Junk" folder along with stocks and Passbook. Passbook is just another poor attempt from Apple to make people think they're innovating, sad but true.

 

[SmileyBlast!]

Does this mean we will soon be seeing a fleet of Cars driving around our cities with tripods on the roof and 360 cameras?

I wonder if Google would have considered selling this mapping data. How much $s?

Also is Google maps data is available over the internet? Can't they pull a Bing and compare their map results to Google's with some sort of processing?
Maybe they just need to send the Ground Truth Teams to the spots where there is a trouble spot.

 

[50548]

Will they dig up my buried lies?

I thought the US were part of the Americas...are they in Asia now or what?

 

[Apple Corps]

This project should have already been in place 1 year ago.

Bingo. We need a crusade to get Cook FIRED. They have so much money they don't know how to spend / invest it for the Apple Ecosystem but they can't get a current featured Mac Pro out and they are just now hiring a mapping team

Cook is an administrator at best - he is so in over his head. Another hiring / promotion mistake by Steve I'm afraid.

This is an example of why Apple stock is tanking - no meaningful innovation and stumble city on recent executions.

BTW - enough with thinner and lighter - where is Aperture X, pro features on Final Cut X, Maps, Apple TV, new iOS, OS X is getting long in the tooth, Pandora like streaming music, China Mobile contract.

Tim is Cooked.

 

[Plutonius]

On second thought, some here claim the maps are great, better than google, so why are these jobs even needed?

Most people who make that claim, like the Apple maps app / interface better. Very few people are claiming that the Apple data is better than the Google data. In any case, you don't just finish the mapping data then stop. Maps are always changing.

 

[Weegee1]

I started using Apple Maps to try it, expecting the worst, and I don't see what the big fuss is about. It works fine, better than Google Maps more often than it is worse. The only real problem is with public transportation. And I'm not talking about the interface. The interface of Maps (which is independent from the services) is a lot better than that of the Google Maps app.

 

[Plutonius]

For me Apple Maps still suck and I wouldn't recommend using them to anyone, Maps has been resigned to the "Apple Junk" folder along with stocks and Passbook. Passbook is just another poor attempt from Apple to make people think they're innovating, sad but true.

Apple maps in the US = Good
Apple maps in the UK = Terrible

 

[someguyinca]

Maybe they'll find Jimmy Hoffa

 

[skellener]

I am not sure what world you live in but that is VERY VERY far away lol.

Not really. It's gonna happen a lot sooner than you think. It's already happening to a certain degree.

 

[someguyinca]

Bingo. We need a crusade to get Cook FIRED. They have so much money they don't know how to spend / invest it for the Apple Ecosystem but they can't get a current featured Mac Pro out and they are just now hiring a mapping team

Cook is an administrator at best - he is so in over his head. Another hiring / promotion mistake by Steve I'm afraid.

This is an example of why Apple stock is tanking - no meaningful innovation and stumble city on recent executions.

BTW - enough with thinner and lighter - where is Aperture X, pro features on Final Cut X, Maps, Apple TV, new iOS, OS X is getting long in the tooth, Pandora like streaming music, China Mobile contract.

Tim is Cooked.

Or, maybe no one would look good following SJ>

 

[Bako-MacAddict]

I thought they been working on this long time ago

 

[skellener]

They need to hire tens of thousands of drivers to get in cars that are outfitted with cameras and other sensors and have those people actually drive around like Google did. Somehow, I doubt that's what they're planning to do, but I hope I'm wrong.

I have a bad feeling they're going to hire a bunch of people to sit in cubicles and look at mind-numbing databases full of POIs and somehow cross-verify the database entries with some other "master" list or map.

Exactly. Which makes me wonder, what will Apple Maps be like in five years? Will it even still be around? Apple is notorious for beginning projects and then abandoning them. I get the feeling this will be the case with Apple Maps. Especially since Google is blazing a trail with their maps and Apple cannot deliver a functional, reliable, usable service to save their lives.

By the way, where's the web version of Apple Maps? Or even the OSX native Apple Maps app for when you need to check something while you are at your Mac? Shouldn't that all be able to sync through iCloud?

Yeah, let's see where Apple is in five years with this....heck, three years.

 

[ipedro]

Still wondering how committed Apple is to maps though. Only time will tell that.

Meanwhile, once Google has the autonomous cars legitimized (which is getting closer everyday), you can bet they'll never send out a manned Google Car again. Those things will be eventually be all electric and have their own tiny garages to charge overnight in every part of every major area and go out everyday and constantly be updating StreetView without anyone ever setting foot in one.

How's Apple's StreetView coming?

Apple isn't aiming to copy or match StreetView. They're aiming at something much much better.

In the first generation of iOS Maps, there are already hints of how Apple will proceed with a competitor to StreetView: Flyover. I already use Flyover to look at the general area, in a lot more efficient -- albeit granted, lower resolution -- than StreetView.

Now imagine a second and third generation of this technology which will be able to peer into store windows from the air. Not only will it be easier and more natural to navigate an area using Flyover than Streetview, but Flyover can be updated much more regularly because it only takes a plane a few hours to map an entire city, rather than months of work to drive through every street and stitch it all together with StreetView.

I have my bets on Flyover.