Apple Hiring Maps Engineer to Work on Improved Community Crowdsourcing, Siri/Passbook Integration

[MacRumors]

Apple is continuing to work on improvements to its Maps app for iOS and OS X, and a new job listing suggests that better use of crowdsourcing and integration with Siri and Passbook are the next features the company will introduce to provide a better Maps experience.

The job posting, first shared by 9to5Mac, seeks a "Maps Community Client Software Engineer" to join Apple's Maps team. The engineer will focus on "building and extending the Maps application to allow Apple to crowdsource improvements to the Maps experience," and the position calls for high-level UI development and refining of the "Report a Problem" feature in Maps.

According to the job description, deeper integration between Maps and other system services like Passbook and Siri may be on the horizon to improve crowdsourcing.

As an engineer working on Maps Community, your primary responsibility will be high-level UI development and architecture of the "Report a Problem" feature of the Maps application, and you will work closely with designers and engineers across the company to add new features and build the very best crowd-sourcing experience. You'll also be working on the frameworks and plugins that enable Maps to integrate deeply and seamlessly with parts of the system such as Siri and Passbook, to extend and enhance the feedback experience.

Since Maps received a highly critical reception following its launch alongside iOS 6, Apple has gone to great lengths to improve the software by leaps and bounds. In addition to terminating several people involved with the Maps project and restructuring its entire executive structure, the company has also acquired a glut of mapping companies over the past several years, including C3 Technologies, Broadmap, Embark, Hopstop, WifiSlam, Locationary, and most recently, the developers behind Pin Drop.

The company has also hired a range of "ground truth experts" around the world to improve the quality of the information given by its Maps app, and it's utilized crowdsourcing to introduce significant improvements to Points of Interest (POI) data.

Apple is said to be working to add much-needed features like transit directions and indoor mapping improvements to Maps, but development has reportedly been stymied by internal issues and poor project management.

Article Link: Apple Hiring Maps Engineer to Work on Improved Community Crowdsourcing, Siri/Passbook Integration

 

[Traverse]

I used Maps yesterday to get me between two towns. It worked flawlessly. I realize that my experience isn't like some (most?) other's, but I haven't had any issue with Maps.

 

[JHankwitz]

I hope they get their act together soon.

 

[OreoMuncher]

Erh. Only now?

Shouldn't they have acquired these specific people before releasing maps? to two years after?

Oh well. Better late than never. I just hope they create an Apple Maps editor, I'd be much more inclined to contribute fixing the maps if I could do so easily. I've probably altered/fixed every single POI within my 3 mile radius.

 

[Squilly]

Since Maps received a highly critical reception following its launch alongside iOS 6, Apple has gone to great lengths to improve the software by leaps and bounds. In addition to terminating several people involved with the Maps project and restructuring its entire executive structure, the company has also acquired a glut of mapping companies over the past several years, including C3 Technologies, Broadmap, Embark, Hopstop, WifiSlam, Locationary, and most recently, the developers behind Pin Drop.

I haven't used Apple Maps for a while but I'd like to know how many of these acquisitions have actually made it into the current build of Maps.

 

[Rogifan]

I hope they get their act together soon.

There is a lot Eddy's team needs to get its act together on. Either he has too much on his plate or Tim needs to bring someone in that can move this stuff forward. TV is getting its butt kicked by competitor offerings, iTunes is a bloated mess and how embarrassing will it be if Microsoft integrates Cortana with Windows desktop before Siri comes to the Mac.

 

[rwilliams]

It would be nice if they could release periodic updates to Maps the way they do their non-bundled apps (the iWork suite, Remote, etc.).

 

[gluckett]

Shouldn't they have acquired these specific people before releasing maps? to two years after?

Oh well. Better late than never. I just hope they create an Apple Maps editor, I'd be much more inclined to contribute fixing the maps if I could do so easily. I've probably altered/fixed every single POI within my 3 mile radius.

I have tried reporting multiple POI errors around me as well, but finally gave up because not one of them has been addressed yet.

 

[advancewarsbest]

In all honesty, Google Maps has sent me the wrong way more times than Apple Maps

HOWEVER, I have used Google Maps for a longer period of time than Apple Maps, which is probably why.

Geolocation and Direction is tough to do, and there are so many places. They are wrong so rarely or make me do a bit of an extra turn oh well, its a service I get for free and I still get where I need to go so I'm happy.

This is what some people sound like to me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns37ydVCMZ8

 

[RedOrchestra]

There is no hope for Maps ... when will Apple put it out of it's misery?

 

[Macist]

Used Maps here in the UK for the first time since it was released - it seems JUST AS BAD as it was when launched. For POIs and businesses it's atrocious - for example, really well known locations casually marked several streets away.

Surprised it hasn't been quietly dropped.

As a SatNav it does the job but so what? It's miles behind Google maps.

 

[the-oz-man]

Slow in progress but Maps is getting better. I've noticed many corrections to new bypass roads that have been in place for years in cities and rural areas. Progress is progress, but it may be a little to slow for the mobile industry.

 

[fitshaced]

I definitely want to see Passbook more useable. It's such a waste right now and it has enormous potential.

 

[T-Will]

Would be nice to use Apple Maps to see traffic incidents, law enforcement, and weather during my daily commute, so I could finally replace Waze.

 

[Rogifan]

Used Maps here in the UK for the first time since it was released - it seems JUST AS BAD as it was when launched. For POIs and businesses it's atrocious - for example, really well known locations casually marked several streets away.

Surprised it hasn't been quietly dropped.

As a SatNav it does the job jut so what? It's miles behind Google maps.

You have to wonder does Apple truly have its heart in maps or was it just part of Steve Jobs thermonuclear war on Google? According to 9to5Mac transit data was pulled from iOS 8 due to personal issues and bad project management.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/09/more-on-why-public-transit-directions-got-lost-in-ios-8-apple-maps/

Why didn’t they appear? One tipster says it was a personnel issue: “Many developers left the company, no map improvements planned for iOS 8 release were finished in time. Mostly it was failure of project managers and engineering project managers, tasks were very badly planned, developers had to switch multiple times from project to project.”… It’s a take that is both contested and corroborated by our other source. “I would say that planning, project management and internal politics issues were a much more significant contributor to the failure to complete projects than developers leaving the group,” the source said.

9to5Mac had also reported that a number maps employees are leaving Apple for Uber.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/25/top-apple-maps-app-manager-for-watch-ios-os-x-exits-for-uber/

 

[the-oz-man]

I definitely want to see Passbook more useable. It's such a waste right now and it has enormous potential.

ApplePay fixed that problem.

 

[octothorpe8]

I used Maps yesterday to get me between two towns. It worked flawlessly. I realize that my experience isn't like some (most?) other's, but I haven't had any issue with Maps.

My experience with it has been steadily improving.

It still pulls some bonehead moves occasionally, like suggesting Finland when I type in the name of a Brooklyn intersection (come on, you KNOW I'm already in Brooklyn, phone).

But I've used it to navigate by car in LA, Portland and Chicago and had no real issues.

 

[VulchR]

...
9to5Mac had also reported that a number maps employees are leaving Apple for Uber...

LOL - bad move.

In any case the problem with Maps is now not just a technical one, but one also of trust. I live in the UK and I reported POI errors, expecting them to be fixed within weeks of reporting (particularly since there were so many people out of work who could have been hired to process errors). Instead it took years for some of the POI errors in my town to be corrected.

Seriously, how hard can it be? You have the POI error-reporting routine use the camera to take a picture of the correct POI. GPS, compass, etc.are used to confirm the picture is genuine and the information is accurate. Even if only Apple devices were used, this would have worked.

I know what you're saying. I live in Europe (egad, in Scotland no less). Yet Apple's so-called research tax avoidance unit is located in Europe (Ireland).

Apple really dropped the ball on this one.

 

[fitshaced]

ApplePay fixed that problem.

In your country perhaps.

 

[baller1308]

I just wish the problems that I have reported were applied.

 

[octothorpe8]

I definitely want to see Passbook more useable. It's such a waste right now and it has enormous potential.

Not sure I agree. I have a couple Starbucks cards in there and I also use it for my boarding passes every time I fly. The boarding pass pops up on your lock screen the morning of your flight and is then available with a single swipe, no unlocking. It also instantly boosts your screen to full brightness so it scans well.

 

[macintologist]

Go to this Apple maps link.

The road is cut off by a huge sand mine. It has been this way for years, and I have reported this problem 20 times over the last year and Apple has not changed it! Could you all report it too and maybe something will change?

Here is a Google Maps link which gets it right.

 

[miamialley]

Coming from my Galaxy S4 and using Google maps. Apple maps is horrible. I had only iPhones prior.

Dark mode works randomly.
Pins are not always in the actual location of a building.
No lane assistance.
Traffic info sucks compared to Google.
A lot more...

----------

Go to this Apple maps link.

The road is cut off by a huge sand mine. It has been this way for years, and I have reported this problem 20 times over the last year and Apple has not changed it! Could you all report it too and maybe something will change?

Here is a Google Maps link which gets it right.

They need to have a way you can place a pin and avoid ever driving by it in a route.

 

[nikhsub1]

Coming from my Galaxy S4 and using Google maps. Apple maps is horrible. I had only iPhones prior.

Dark mode works randomly.
Pins are not always in the actual location of a building.
No lane assistance.
Traffic info sucks compared to Google.
A lot more...

I don't know anyone who uses apple maps, it sucks rhino dung. IDK why they keep throwing money at it, they will never catch google. SMH.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Big problem I have is when I search for something, say, Little Ceasars, and it suggests one that is 1000 miles away. There's two within 30 miles that I know of, it knows where I am, heck, it even knows where the two I know about are if I say "Little Caesars <town>", but it just doesn't seem to be even remotely intelligent when it comes to sorting results.

This kind of issue comes up with all chains. Starbucks, Six Flags, Wendy's, Target... You name it, Apple Maps will suggest one thousands of miles away before it suggests one down the street (when you don't specify the town).