What is the practicality of flyover mapping?

[steve-p]

Pretty cool video. I really do like the Flyover technology and it certainly does have its place, but it's just not Street View. A quick calculation shows that to cover all of America, Apple would have to be flying airplanes over the country 24/7 for about 4,000 days straight We'll see how it turns out when iOS 6 finally comes out.

And, I know it's hard to believe, but there are other countries in the world too

 

[Ljohnson72]

And, I know it's hard to believe, but there are other countries in the world too

My point was that since just to capture America would take a long time, imagine how long it would take many more countries.

 

[Dbrown]

That's Nokia's implementation of 3d fly-over mode. I'm sure Apple has better standards than that.

You're sure? Did you bother looking at pic of apple's flyover on the first page of this thread?

 

[TLewis]

No, you can't read road signs from flyover, but you can read things like building signage and ease of using the 3D view helps you understand what you needed to know faster, IMO.

We're not saying that flyover isn't useful. It's certainly impressive, and some people (like you) obviously do find it very useful. We also understand that you don't find streetview useful. That's cool -- different strokes for different folks and all that.

However, please don't tell those of us, who do find streetview useful, that flyover is a "good enough" replacement. It's not. Streetview often shows really tiny details -- details that flyover just can't match. In terms of signage, only large signs are going to be visible, and streetview users often find it useful to view the smaller signs, especially when looking for small businesses. Here's an example:

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What's that, you say? Zoom, zoom:

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This is the kind of detail available in streetview -- detail that flyover will never match. (Please note that I don't care about the above sign -- I'm just using it as an example of the detail that you can find in streetview, FAR AWAY FROM MAJOR METROPOLITAN CENTERS.)

 

[Saladinos]

I picked a random street in San Francisco. Anyone who thinks this is impressive needs to get their eyes checked.

Flyover will look the same.

You should wait for the higher resolution models to load. That's what I see when I zoom in quickly and don't wait at all. Some places do look that bad, but others are extremely impressive. Here's another random street from SF (attached).

TLewis, as for the tiny little street signs like you posted, I don't think street view is the best solution for that. I think the answer to that problem is better business directories. Think about it - how would you ever find that store? You'd have to already know it was there, someone would have already had to have given you the address. If it's a little basement store like that, sure you're not going to be able to easily see it on flyover.

Street view doesn't give you the best experience, and even though the coverage has been built up, it's still difficult to keep updated and the close-up pictures mean that lots of people take their houses off of SV, obscuring a massive part of the street with a blur. This is especially common in Europe (and there especially in Germany). I think people will be more comfortable with less intricate pictures of their homes, but well have to wait and see.

 

[TLewis]

TLewis, as for the tiny little street signs like you posted, I don't think street view is the best solution for that. I think the answer to that problem is better business directories. Think about it - how would you ever find that store? You'd have to already know it was there, someone would have already had to have given you the address. If it's a little basement store like that, sure you're not going to be able to easily see it on flyover.

Street view doesn't give you the best experience, and even though the coverage has been built up, it's still difficult to keep updated and the close-up pictures mean that lots of people take their houses off of SV, obscuring a massive part of the street with a blur. This is especially common in Europe (and there especially in Germany). I think people will be more comfortable with less intricate pictures of their homes, but well have to wait and see.

Ah, I think I see what's happening.

Streetview is very good in the US, but not as good in Europe and other places, for the reasons that you mentioned. In the US, very little is blurred, and that makes streetview much more useful.

(I am not saying that privacy is bad. I am saying that, for better or worse, few people in the US are concerned with privacy, and so streetview is often phenomenally detailed. I've also noticed that google has been updating their streetview images with much more detailed ones.)

I do not know about other places but, in the US, business directories are dying, and are being replaced by each individual business's web site on the internet. The few business directories, that do exist, are often highly commercialized and often contain only generic information, like addresses and phone numbers. I don't find these internet business directories useful.

When I use streetview, I often do have an address. However, I like to use streetview to (1) verify the location (in the US, address locations in google maps are not always accurate), and (2) to locate the front door/entrance. For businesses, the streetview will also often give me an idea of the parking situation.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Pretty cool video. I really do like the Flyover technology and it certainly does have its place, but it's just not Street View. A quick calculation shows that to cover all of America, Apple would have to be flying airplanes over the country 24/7 for about 4,000 days straight We'll see how it turns out when iOS 6 finally comes out.

That is the same conclusion I came to when I initially watched the video when Apple first acquired the company. And that assumes 24/7 surveillance at night, during storms, etc. Plus the processing time takes 5x the flight time.

But then I slowly started to realize the error of my ways... That is assuming a single aircraft. Apple can easily deploy 100 or more of these aircraft at once. Then you take into account (this is a complete guess and estimation because I couldn't quickly find the stat) 90% of the US population probably only takes up around 25% of the landmass in the US. So using your same math, with my 100 aircraft, it would take 10 days to cover 90% of the US population. 20 days when you account for only 12 hours of flying a day.

 

[Ljohnson72]

That is the same conclusion I came to when I initially watched the video when Apple first acquired the company. And that assumes 24/7 surveillance at night, during storms, etc. Plus the processing time takes 5x the flight time.

But then I slowly started to realize the error of my ways... That is assuming a single aircraft. Apple can easily deploy 100 or more of these aircraft at once. Then you take into account (this is a complete guess and estimation because I couldn't quickly find the stat) 90% of the US population probably only takes up around 25% of the landmass in the US. So using your same math, with my 100 aircraft, it would take 10 days to cover 90% of the US population. 20 days when you account for only 12 hours of flying a day.

Good point. I just wonder how hard it is to get permission for the flyovers. For example, in downtown San Diego, there is an international airport, so there is constant traffic in the air. It would be interesting to see how they get coverage in metropolitan areas like that and if that delays them. I also am curious as too how many aircraft they can deploy / are deploying at any given point in time.

 

[The Phazer]

Check out Nokia's Ovi 3D maps on your desktop (plugin required). Uses the same C3 data, but includes more places (like Europe!). Some cities seem to map better than others. Have a browse around, and I'm sure you'll come to like it.

Nope, it's hopeless.

For example, I'm taking a friend out for a drink in Covent Garden next week.

With Street View, I search for the venue, tap the icon, and voila! I can see the front door and if it has disabled access or is a complete non starter.

With the C3 data, I can't even tell if the building has a door in many cases, particularly in tight streets.

 

[iPhoneApple]

Wish Apple and Google did a share with Flyover and street view; that would be amazing! (Not happening)

 

[Dbrown]

You should wait for the higher resolution models to load. That's what I see when I zoom in quickly and don't wait at all. Some places do look that bad, but others are extremely impressive. Here's another random street from SF (attached).

Dude, give it a rest already. There are no high res models and that pic looks like crap. The models look like crap and the textures look like crap. It only looks good from a birds eye view.

Thats what happens when all your data is captured from an airplane thousands of feet in the air.

 

[burnside]

So let me get this straight. You have no idea how a highly detailed birds eye view of a location that you can zoom in on and pan around buildings is useful in a mapping context?

Where is this highly detailed birds eye view you are speaking of? The zoomed in photos I have seen look like the cities have caught some type of disease! That's the level of detail you are talking about? The house below looks like it will be overtaken by some killer grass within the year. I also like how the sidewalk takes a 90 degree turn toward the sky.

Maybe you should reserve judgement until you've actually used it then.

You're right, haven't used the new maps yet, but from the photos I've seen and what I am led to believe from the keynote and articles I've read, I still cannot see the practicality or more importantly, the hype over this feature. It's a gimmick, plain and simple!

 

[MattInOz]

Havent really seen much practicality in it.... Bad trade off for street view.

When was street view of practical value?
Seems every time I go to look at a building it is in between two street view bubbles and hopelessly distorted.

 

[TLewis]

When was street view of practical value?

You're either not in the US or are in an area where google hasn't yet updated streetview with higher-res images. Streetview in the US is generally quite good, and even rural areas are getting higher-res images.

 

[haruhiko]

Unless you travel by helicopter, is there any practical use for flyover maps or is it just a novelty thing?

Haha I like this.

Maybe it's just like Siri. The Siri on my 4S wow'ed a few colleagues on the first week of the debut of the phone (they requested me to show them) and now... I really wanted to use it more often but I feel so strange to use it in places other than my bedroom...

My mum always check out Street View if she needs to go to places that she has never been to or is not familiar with... and how can I convince her to use aerial photos instead... and my city is not even covered yet.

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I guess this will help Spiderman.

big thumbs up

 

[haruhiko]

What this boils down to is that those who relied on Street View will have to just use the web app to continue having access to that particular functionality, unless there is more to Flyover than has been demonstrated (by Apple or people who have posted here). Personally, the way I use Streetview, Flyover as demonstrated cannot replace it (nor could I imagine how it could....it's just a different beast). The point that a lot of us in this thread are making is that Apple has removed a feature from a built-in app and replaced it with a built-in feature that does not make up for what was lost. Those who extensively and productively used the functionality that was not replicated will now have to go outside of the built-in solution. Fortunately, that won't be too difficult, just a little annoying.

Again... where can I find Street View on the web app?

 

[bmckenna2]

When was street view of practical value?
Seems every time I go to look at a building it is in between two street view bubbles and hopelessly distorted.

street view coverage sucks in my neighborhood unfortunately I'm in the same boat

 

[steve-p]

You're either not in the US or are in an area where google hasn't yet updated streetview with higher-res images. Streetview in the US is generally quite good, and even rural areas are getting higher-res images.

Coverage is extensive in the UK too and I use it a great deal. Although I will concede I use it a lot more on Google Earth on the Mac, than I do on the iPhone or iPad. Will Apple provide a Mac app for maps with Flyover I wonder? Unlikely since they haven't even bothered with iBooks.

 

[bmckenna2]

Coverage is extensive in the UK too and I use it a great deal. Although I will concede I use it a lot more on Google Earth on the Mac, than I do on the iPhone or iPad. Will Apple provide a Mac app for maps with Flyover I wonder? Unlikely since they haven't even bothered with iBooks.

a flyover app for the mac would be really cool! i doubt it will happen maybe we can hope for a web app or something.. maybe as part of iCloud

 

[8a22a]

Again... where can I find Street View on the web app?

Are there a few appstore apps that have Street View.

One is 'Avenue See'. On iOS 6 it combines Apple maps with street view.

 

[LostSoul80]

The more I use it, the more it reveals its uselessness.
You just can't compare it to Street View.

 

[Cybbe]

I can see flyover having some practical value if you are checking out a route before going. For an example, click on the "helicopter" icon in this Nokia maps route (requires plug-in) which prompts a flyover based on the same tech.

http://bit.ly/MgveMD

 

[Electric turd]

a flyover app for the mac would be really cool! i doubt it will happen maybe we can hope for a web app or something.. maybe as part of iCloud

Go here and install the 3d plug in. Exact same mapping company apple uses (c3).

 

[monkeylui]

Too me it's a gimmick and a battery hog (though I don't have proof of the battery thing, just a guess. I really wouldn't use it other than just showing my kids for entertainment.

 

[rahul247rocks]

Apple just wants to prove themselves different from Google Maps and so they came up with Flyover....what...is this a travel blog or something....who wants a flyover view....rather I would like pictures of restaurants or shops on ground. Looks like Apple needs to come up with new brighter ideas if they wanna conquer the Maps Industry.