Archinect - News

Google Maps is integrating buildings and architectural details, far surpassing other map makers such as Apple & Bing

2017-12-21T16:51:00-05:00

Justin O'Beirne lays out years worth of research on mapping technologies in his essay Google Map's Moat. O'Beirne reveals,"Over the past year, we’ve been comparing Google Maps and Apple Maps [...] The biggest difference is the building footprints: Google seems to have them all, while Apple doesn’t have any. [...] The buildings are a new thing, and I’ve been watching Google gradually add them over the past year."

With plenty of map screenshot GIFs, O'Beirne illustrates how Google has integrated architecture (including sheds, trailers, garages, etc.) with fairly accurate architectural detail just in the past year. Compared alongside Apple and other mapping technologies, Google is far ahead of the game.

Architectural detail on churches from Google maps, even the front steps are included. Photo: Justin O'Beirne.

Google is also using this data to create AOI's, Areas of Interest, on it's mapping service. Using it's building footprint data collected from satellites and the function of tho...

Apple's secret "Indoor Survey" app enables a crowdsourced GPS for interiors

2015-11-02T13:15:00-05:00

Apple has a secret app in the App Store which allows some iPhone users to map the interior of a building using their handset. First discovered yesterday by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, an app called Indoor Survey has been available on the App Store since last week. The software is currently hidden in the App Store and is not operational, suggesting that the official launch is around the corner.

The indoor positioning app "Indoor Survey", which allows users to pin their location on a map within a given structure, seems to also function as a mode of "crowdsourced Ground Truth" to improve Apple Maps' accuracy. As the app is still "hidden" and not searchable, the only way to download is through a direct link to the App Store.

Before the app is made publicly available, there are a few caveats:

"Some Twitter users claim that you have to be an approved public venue representative to participate in this project, meaning the app may not work with your Apple ID.

Also keep in mind that Indoor Survey is currently available in select markets, is hidden in the App Store search and appears non-functional".

Apple Maps puts its own cars on the streets, in uphill battle against Google Maps

2015-06-10T13:47:00-04:00

So will Apple’s version of street-based imagery simply be a direct copy of Street View? Possibly not. A patent filed back in 2013 mentions “3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Imagery Navigation,” and the filing is disparaging of existing imaging software, calling it a “tedious experience,” though it doesn’t mention Google Street View by name.

Apple Maps Is Painting Our World Strange

2014-03-26T14:19:00-04:00

The Rendering Eye: Urban America Revisited presents 3D screenshots of the urban US as they appear in Apple Maps: deserted streets, post-apocalyptic buildings and industrial plants, melting harbors. Cars and boats turn into shadows, trees into sculptures, containers into wax.[...] The cityscapes captured by artist REGULA BOCHSLER for the publication are abstract, machine generated, and cold. And yet they are poetic, not least because of their “mistakes,” which give them a painterly composition.