Bloomberg reports that Apple is set to use drones and indoor navigation features in order to make improvements to its Maps apps and bring them closer in quality to Google’s ever popular Maps app.
Sources familiar with Apple’s plans said that the company is putting together a team of robotics and data collection technicians who will oversee the use of drones to record and update map information faster and more efficiently than the current minivans can manage.
Apparently, Apple is looking to use the drones to check out street signs, track road changes, and monitor construction work. The data that the drones collect would then be sent to Apple teams who would be tasked with immediately updating the Maps app in order to keep it as current as possible.
Apple is also working on new Maps features, according to Bloomberg’s source, such as viewing inside buildings and improved car navigation.
Apple has already spoken of the need to improve its Maps app to keep up with Google Maps, with senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, telling Fast Company earlier in the year that “There’s a huge data-quality issue there, and I don’t think we initially appreciated all the kinds of technology we would need to do that on an ongoing basis.”
Source: Apple Said to Fly Drones to Improve Maps Data and Catch Google
