Apple Maps Now Shows Apple Park 3D Models, Campus Walkways

[MacRumors]

Apple has quietly updated its Maps app to include additional 3D coverage of the new Apple Park campus location in Cupertino, California.

The enhanced detail includes a "Map" view with 3D building models as well as access roads running in and out of the campus. Traffic directions, pedestrian walkways, and other information can also be found when searching the area.

In addition, the company has added some new points of interest for Apple Park, such as the Steve Jobs Theater, the research and development facility, the staff fitness center, and above-ground parking. The manmade pond that lies within the walls of the main building also features.

Apple has gradually been adding Maps location information and satellite imagery for Apple Park since March. The company has already started moving thousands of staff to the new campus while landscaping and exterior work to the central office building continues, as evidenced in recent drone footage.

Apple Park began as an idea by the late former CEO Steve Jobs, who pitched the plans for the campus to the Cupertino City Council in 2011, with a completion date for 2015. Demolition on the proposed site began in 2013, but construction delays pushed back a late 2016 opening to the spring of 2017.

(Via AppleInsider.)

Article Link: Apple Maps Now Shows Apple Park 3D Models, Campus Walkways

 

[daanodinot]

Whatever you think of Apple Maps, Apple Park coverage has been excellent.

 

[EdT]

I think that most people really don't care. I'm not looking forward to another "Apple Maps Suck" thread that this article is going to generate though.

 

[Stella]

Well, ok. I'm sure Apple took extra care to ensure the mapping was accurate down to the last mm!

I still don't trust Apple maps and doesn't cover enough modes of transport and have long since removed the app icon from my phone.

 

[jonnysods]

Hopefully it works well for the employees!

 

[Kajje]

Considering not a single normal soul will be allowed in the park, they might have just well covered area 51.

 

[doelcm82]

Considering not a single normal soul will be allowed in the park, they might have just well covered area 51.

Just visiting makes you exceptional.

 

[Aluminum213]

Now if only Apple maps would actually cover the rest of the country it would be useful

 

[twinlight]

Considering not a single normal soul will be allowed in the park, they might have just well covered area 51.

Area 51 is quite well covered, in satellite images at least, on Apple Maps.

 

[cube]

Area 51 is quite well covered, in satellite images at least, on Apple Maps.

Infrared?

 

[Steve.P.JobsFan]

Considering not a single normal soul will be allowed in the park, they might have just well covered area 51.

That's most certainly not true. There is an Apple Store and a café that are open to the public.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I wonder how they'll map out the building.

Typically, in squarish buildings, it's like Battleship, where I may be at location 5P4, where the first digit is the floor number, and the P4 is an XY coordinate.

For me, it makes sense to have a system like a 360 degree, but do you use magnetic north (easy if you have a phone, but changes - ask a pilot) or true north?

Something like Floor Lettered Distance Radial, so 4S270 would be on the west side, a considerable distance from the center of the circle, on the 4th floor.

Rectangular coordinates wouldn't work so well, as there would be gaps in the coverage, and gridding out a circular building makes it harder to find something. I've seen stadia with their systems, but they seem to be more of a system that makes sense to them (i.e. circular alphabet and hundreds for the level.)

 

[Futurix]

They didn't update the app, they updated the server database with 3D data

 

[IJ Reilly]

Considering not a single normal soul will be allowed in the park, they might have just well covered area 51.

Since only abnormal people will be allowed in, perhaps you could study up.

 

[solipsism]

I wonder how they'll map out the building.

Typically, in squarish buildings, it's like Battleship, where I may be at location 5P4, where the first digit is the floor number, and the P4 is an XY coordinate.

For me, it makes sense to have a system like a 360 degree, but do you use magnetic north (easy if you have a phone, but changes - ask a pilot) or true north?

Something like Floor Lettered Distance Radial, so 4S270 would be on the west side, a considerable distance from the center of the circle, on the 4th floor.

Rectangular coordinates wouldn't work so well, as there would be gaps in the coverage, and gridding out a circular building makes it harder to find something. I've seen stadia with their systems, but they seem to be more of a system that makes sense to them (i.e. circular alphabet and hundreds for the level.)

I like using degrees as markers. They could also create section names since that's usually a little easier for most people to understand.

I'm wondering if we'll hear about an internal app that using the tech form the indoor mapping companies they've purchased so you can, say, look an internal email footer of a person, click on their office or the conference room they want you to meet at, and having it direct you how to get there, show you a map, and tell you how long it will take to walk there.

The biggest need will likely be for the employees parking under the ring who want to park closest to their workspace. After that it's probably fairly simple to navigate.

 

[CarlJ]

Now if only Apple maps would actually cover the rest of the country it would be useful

Define "rest of the country". In southern California it has been working extremely well for a long time. Or does only the town where you live qualify as being "the country". And when was the last time you tried it?

 

[JamesPDX]

So will people ride iScooters to get from one side of the building to the other? Or can you cut through the center?

Two peeps trying to meet: "Hey, you're not here yet. Did you walk clockwise or counter clockwise... Okay just stand still; I'll be there in about 30."

 

[dampfnudel]

Well, ok. I'm sure Apple took extra care to ensure the mapping was accurate down to the last mm!

I still don't trust Apple maps and doesn't cover enough modes of transport and have long since removed the app icon from my phone.

Apple Maps still falls short for me and probably will continue to fall short in the near future.

 

[Bart Kela]

I wonder how they'll map out the building.

(post truncated for legibility)

For me, it makes sense to have a system like a 360 degree, but do you use magnetic north (easy if you have a phone, but changes - ask a pilot) or true north?

Something like Floor Lettered Distance Radial, so 4S270 would be on the west side, a considerable distance from the center of the circle, on the 4th floor.)

The compass analogy isn't bad, but a little dorky, especially the part about magnetic versus true north. I think a clock analogy would be simpler and more universally recognized.

The first number would be the floor, then a letter would be used to describe relative location within the ring (letter A for the zone closest to the courtyard, letter B for center part of the ring, and letter C for the zone with windows looking away from the building). The second number would be the approximate location on an analog clock. So if you were on the second floor, along the inside (courtyard) window on the east side, you'd be in section 2A3. If you were on the third floor on the south side overlooking Hwy 280, you'd be in 3C6.

Plus, using analog clock numbers is more concise, a maximum of two digits, not three. Plus, all you have to do is look at or visualize an analog watch face to get a sense of your bearings rather than fire up the compass app (there's no native compass app on the iPad).

Using the compass analogy, it would take some people a few moments to figure out that 150 degrees is 5 o'clock.

So will people ride iScooters to get from one side of the building to the other? Or can you cut through the center?

Two peeps trying to meet: "Hey, you're not here yet. Did you walk clockwise or counter clockwise... Okay just stand still; I'll be there in about 30."

There are underground passages for quicker crossings. On fair weather days, some will opt to walk through the courtyard.

However, I'm guessing that they will strategically place engineering divisions so the iPhone hardware engineering team isn't on the opposite side of the building as the iOS software engineering team. Also, there's no requirement for them to put all division team members on the same floor. The iOS software team could occupy a certain quadrant of the ring, but on multiple levels, so visiting a colleague/attending a meeting/going to a lab would me a quick trip up and down stairs (or an elevator)

 

[jayducharme]

Apple Maps still falls short for me and probably will continue to fall short in the near future.

I regularly travel the northeast to the mid-Atlantic states, and Apple Maps (with Siri) has rarely let me down. I like how it detects heavy traffic with remarkable accuracy and suggests better routes.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

The compass analogy isn't bad, but a little dorky, especially the part about magnetic versus true north. I think a clock analogy would be simpler and more universally recognized.

The first number would be the floor, then a letter would be used to describe relative location within the ring (letter A for the zone closest to the courtyard, letter B for center part of the ring, and letter C for the zone with windows looking away from the building). The second number would be the approximate location on an analog clock. So if you were on the second floor, along the inside (courtyard) window on the east side, you'd be in section 2A3. If you were on the third floor on the south side overlooking Hwy 280, you'd be in 3C6.

Plus, using analog clock numbers is more concise, a maximum of two digits, not three. Plus, all you have to do is look at or visualize an analog watch face to get a sense of your bearings rather than fire up the compass app (there's no native compass app on the iPad).

Using the compass analogy, it would take some people a few moments to figure out that 150 degrees is 5 o'clock.

There are underground passages for quicker crossings. On fair weather days, some will opt to walk through the courtyard.

However, I'm guessing that they will strategically place engineering divisions so the iPhone hardware engineering team isn't on the opposite side of the building as the iOS software engineering team. Also, there's no requirement for them to put all division team members on the same floor. The iOS software team could occupy a certain quadrant of the ring, but on multiple levels, so visiting a colleague/attending a meeting/going to a lab would me a quick trip up and down stairs (or an elevator)

I do like the clock part! I'm looking forward to hearing about it from those that get to work there.

 

[scottish]

Is the visitor center open yet?

 

[Bart Kela]

Nothing is open yet. And the visitor center certainly won't open before the first wave of employees move in. My sources says that this has been postponed until the end of 2017.

When the Apple Park visitor center does open to the public, you will likely be able to learn more about its hours of operation on Apple's corporate website, plus there should be tons of blog posts, user comments, social media commentary, restaurant reviews, etc. None of that has happened yet, so it's a bit odd that you're asking now.

 

[filman408]

The visitor center building (store and caffe) must be located at 10600 N Tantau Ave.
I remember reading about a viewing area on the roof. It won't be in the main circle building.

 

[StandingGoose]

I think a clock analogy would be simpler and more universally recognized.

And since we should all be using 24-hour time formats...