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Apple-Leased Vans Gathering Maps Info for Shift to In-House Mapping Database
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Saw apple van near LAX didn't get pic of inside but the driver and the side passenger were just sitting. There was a kind of controller with joysticks with side passenger and the whole time never saw driver touching the steering wheel. This was in afternoon with reslly bad traffic and people merging from various lanes
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I've found an error-free mapping service: my eyes.
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I don't think the wilderness is Apples's priority.
They should let people submit their own images of stores, businesses, and locations for inclusion. Make a special app that takes the photos and marks them with GPS data and then write some code that incorporates the images in with what they are collecting. Crowdsource Apple street view!
Yeah, I like having the images, but you're right, the interface for it is absolutely horrible. Slow and confusing and buggy. And really does not seem to have gotten any better over time, at all. So there's an opportunity there for Apple to do it right.
Apple Maps is the bane of my existence. My wife uses it by default, because it gives her the nice GPS view on her lock screen which Google Maps (AFAIK) doesn't.
But the other day it instructed me to drive off a bridge in the middle of the air about 5 miles from my new home (we are not familiar with our surroundings yet) and rerouted me about 15 minutes out of the way due to missing the actual exit.
But given Apple's incompetence in all things software and data - I predict their data will be years out of date by the time it actually makes a dent in Apple Maps. They should just have us use Google Maps again.
But the other day it instructed me to drive off a bridge in the middle of the air about 5 miles from my new home (we are not familiar with our surroundings yet) and rerouted me about 15 minutes out of the way due to missing the actual exit.
But given Apple's incompetence in all things software and data - I predict their data will be years out of date by the time it actually makes a dent in Apple Maps. They should just have us use Google Maps again.
For the most part, Apple Maps has been great for me... at least now.
In the beginning it was a little rough, especially with our Michigan-lefts that Siri didn't address during navigation (which could have caused some nasty accidents had I blindly listened to her.), and some of the turn-arounds were completely missing. After submitting numerous error reports, they finally fixed all of them from what I can see. It was pretty major though, and shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.
There's also been some problems with POI's, either outdated or missing. I was surprised when Siri couldn't get me the information for my bank or a few of the popular restaurants in my area, and I found out they were no where to be found with Maps (but were all there in Google Maps). However, every time I report something as missing from maps, Apple is surprisingly quick at adding it.
Anything that improves Apple Maps sounds great to me, because I'd love to use it without worrying about errors or mistakes. I'll have to keep an eye out for when those mysterious vans hit Detroit.
In the beginning it was a little rough, especially with our Michigan-lefts that Siri didn't address during navigation (which could have caused some nasty accidents had I blindly listened to her.), and some of the turn-arounds were completely missing. After submitting numerous error reports, they finally fixed all of them from what I can see. It was pretty major though, and shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.
There's also been some problems with POI's, either outdated or missing. I was surprised when Siri couldn't get me the information for my bank or a few of the popular restaurants in my area, and I found out they were no where to be found with Maps (but were all there in Google Maps). However, every time I report something as missing from maps, Apple is surprisingly quick at adding it.
Anything that improves Apple Maps sounds great to me, because I'd love to use it without worrying about errors or mistakes. I'll have to keep an eye out for when those mysterious vans hit Detroit.
The best mapping svc is the one with the most up to date maps and the best routing software. I've used apple maps, Google maps, garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan..all of them can make you do stupid detours. Remember folks we all have brains and if it gets me close I can do rest myself. Mapping data will never be 100% accurate. You would need a mega budget for mapping updates every 30 days. Right now street view is showing pictures of my house being built and that was 7 yrs ago.
I'd imagine there is a hefty amount of equipment in the back of that van.
Even if they could fit it into a hybrid vehicle... the extra weight might negate the benefits of a hybrid.
Exactly, because that's the right way to look at it. By all means Apple should just stop and allow Google to dominate the maps space and not giving the consumer choice. Thank goodness I don't use of these freebees anyway. I pay for my mapping system through Garmin and it works like a charm.
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And how many other ways could it be done in order to grab street views? That's hardly copying. Herp.
I've noticed that Apple Maps has gotten better. Sometimes it doesn't find a place, especially if that place went out of business or recently moved locations which can happen quite a bit in a city. But in many of those instances I open Google Maps and it either has the same wrong informationor sometimes even different wrong information. The main thing I use Google Maps for is that it's better at finding POIs based on keywords and it has street view. If Apple can patch that up then Apple Maps will be nearly as good as Google Maps.
x 2... I have not had a single issue with Apple Maps that did not also exist in Google. I have been careful to check. Ironically, in the past 18 months, I have gone thru obscure areas, noticed Apple had it correct now, checked Google. Sometimes they were both fixed, sometimes not.
There will always be a bad route or missing feature somewhere. For where I go though, Apple has been spot on.
I said right on the first rumour that those vans where for mapping, since thats what I do and those sensors are all about gathering data, Apple could develop a self driving car behind locked gates if they wanted to. But you can't map the world in that detail secretly.
Main Roads use similar technology but oriented towards the road to capture 1000kms of highway, and replace the data and accurately mark pot holes and cracks that need repairing in the comfort of their office, with just one person pouring over the data.
Main Roads use similar technology but oriented towards the road to capture 1000kms of highway, and replace the data and accurately mark pot holes and cracks that need repairing in the comfort of their office, with just one person pouring over the data.
The fact that they are missing an entire lake is just ****ing pathetic. I remember when it first came out, the oceans were even wrong.
Google's streetview is basically Apple Quicktime VR.
I expect that Apple's will be more of a street-level version of flyover--a full 3D model of the street.
Google's Streetview is already looking dated, with its 1990s technology, and I expect that even Google is working on a more fluid version that doesn't feel as though you're jumping from one photo bubble to the next.
WalkThrough?
DriveThrough?
DriveBy?