The official blog for Google Maps
Making of Maps: Perspective from the ground
September 8, 2014
Our third post in the
Making of Maps
series
focuses on two individuals who have made significant contributions to their community’s information on Google Maps. Note: this interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. — Ed.
Google Map Maker
can give you the tools you need to improve information about your region in Google Maps—whether you’re adding a new road to your town, or getting your entire country on the map. Across the world, mappers have taken the lead on adding what’s most important to them—indigenous communities in Canada have
added reservations
; Detroit’s cycling enthusiasts have
improved the city’s biking lanes and trails
; and disaster response volunteers
dramatically improved
the map of the Philippines following
Super Typhoon Yolanda
. In Poland, the Google Map Maker community built their map from scratch, adding a remarkable amount of detail along the way. I’ve sat down with two of our biggest mapping contributors in Poland—Jacek and Tomasz—to hear their stories:
Lori: First things first—how’d you get started with Map Maker?
Jacek:
As a teenager I was called the "Geograf" or the Geographer because I loved maps. I brought them with me everywhere I went. As a child I loved to open maps and check how right they were, translating what I knew about the world to country lines, dots, shapes, icons. So when I found Map Maker, it was the perfect tool for me to share my knowledge and experience with others.
Tomasz:
I’m a teacher and one day I started to search for my school because I was interested to see if people using Google Maps could find it. I discovered that the address was incorrect, so I started to search the Internet for how to correct Google Maps. And that’s how I found Map Maker. I started correcting things—beginning with the place that I work and then correcting the rest of my region. That’s when I met Jacek.
Lori: You’ve both worked with a community of mappers who do an amazing job helping one another. Do you want to talk a little bit about the sort of team you self-organized and how you found each other?
Tomasz:
When I first started mapping, I thought I knew everything—I know my region, so I’m the one who knows what should be where, how it should be presented, etc. And then I met Jacek, who showed me what I was doing wrong (I wasn't connecting the roads I added!) and taught me how to map. It’s very important that we lived in the same region because he was already a regional expert reviewer and could review my edits. Jacek was also the one who welcomed me to the Polish Map Maker group.
Jacek:
Now Tomasz makes more additions and edits than me! Right now, our group of trusted mappers always has a hangout open so we can chat. With every addition, we consult each other, review it and discuss it in our language whether it’s a good addition or if something needs to be changed. But we also talk about other things!
Tomasz and Jacek were two of the attendees at Poland’s Mapping Summit in Warsaw, March 2014
Lori: Between all this collaborative team mapping and the events you’ve attended, how do you feel Map Maker has impacted your region and Poland overall?
Jacek:
It’s had a huge impact. In my city, there’s a big national road which was rebuilt in the last two years. I made changes on the roundabout and bridge over the old road, and my changes were connected with the road’s official opening. My changes were on the map and in navigation within 24 hours. It was fascinating to me that my edits were able to change the lives of citizens of my city, of my region—that they’re able to navigate on good maps that are connected to reality, instead of old ones that are out of date.
Lori: And last but not least, why do you map?
Jacek:
Sometimes I don’t map at all. Sometimes I maps for hours. Sometimes the whole day. I’m happy when I have a whole day to map - woah! The most important thing for me is that the map and Google forum is fun.
Tomasz:
For me, mapping is a way for me to take a break from the normal things I do, and I can map or review or teach someone else how to map—it gives me a way to help other people in my region.
Jacek & Tomasz helped improve the map detail in their region,
Upper Silesia, Poland
Map Maker empowers anyone to contribute their knowledge to Google Maps, making the map even more comprehensive. In our final post, we’ll show you how it fits in with the rest of our authoritative sources, Street View, indoor maps, Ground Truth and more.
Posted by Lori Savageau, Community Program Manager, Google Maps
Building Better Maps in Brazil, Israel, and Russia
December 11, 2013
Whether you’re exploring new places or your own hometown, you want an up-to-date, accurate map that gets you where you want to go quickly and easily. That’s why we’re launching our
Ground Truth
initiative in Brazil, Israel, and additional parts of Russia (including Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, and Volgograd). With Ground Truth data, we can improve a country’s map faster so that it accurately reflects the ever-changing world.
The newest Ground Truth update also gives all three countries the option to add local knowledge to the map with the
Report a Problem tool
. We’ve also relaunched
Map Maker
in Brazil, so you can add and update geographic information for millions of users to see in Google Maps and Google Earth. Now, from the bustling markets of Manaus to the dazzling coastline of Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian map enthusiasts can directly contribute their local expertise for all the world to see with
Google Map Maker
.
In the updated maps for Brazil, Israel, and Russia, you can easily distinguish areas of interest with crisper, colored depictions of water bodies and greenery. For example, you can quickly identify Copacabana beach on the map by its yellow coloring, making it easier to find nearby restaurants or streets to explore.
Discover restaurants along Brazil's Copacabana Beach
Updates to the maps’ road priorities, turn restrictions, street names, and interchange signs make navigating the roads more accurate and efficient. For example, in Israel we’ve updated the recently extended Highway 22, helping residents and visitors quickly arrive at their destinations.
Navigate Israel's updated Highway 22
Easily identify points of interest, like national parks, hospitals, and universities, with improved highlighting and visual enhancements. In Israel, Tel Aviv University now shows detailed walking paths, named roads, building department labels, and even designated grounds for the sculpture garden and swimming pools.
Explore the grounds of Israel's Tel Aviv University
More than 20 additional Russian regions will also see a more detailed map with this update. By highlighting major roads, greenery, and extensive networks of water bodies, the map now accurately displays the richness of localities like Kaliningrad.
Uncover the richness of Russia's Kliningrad
With visually clearer and increasingly detailed Google Maps, exploring the breathtaking streets of Old Jerusalem or traversing the lush Amazon rainforest is just a click away.
Sophia Lin, Product Manager, Google Maps
Building Better Maps in Southeast Asia
April 24, 2013
Have you ever found yourself standing on the western bank of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, looking for a way to get across to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha? Or perhaps you’ve spent time scouring a map of Jakarta to find Indonesia’s famous National Monument. In order to make it easier for locals and visitors alike to find what they need and get to where they want to go, today we are publishing more comprehensive and accurate maps for Thailand and Indonesia.
View Larger Map
These updated maps are part of a project called
Ground Truth
that began in 2008 as part of our ongoing quest to provide people everywhere with the most comprehensive and accurate maps. Through this project, we use high-quality map data from authoritative sources around the world and then apply a mix of advanced algorithms, supplemental data (including satellite, aerial and Street View imagery), and human input to help create a map that mirrors the real world as closely as possible.
For example, the updated map for Thailand now provides more comprehensive information about the Bangkok city center shown below. So next time you happen to find yourself needing to cross the Chao Phraya River, you’ll be able to see that many ferry routes across the river are now mapped in greater detail, with route names shown and piers clearly marked. You can also pinpoint nearby points of interest, such as the Grand Palace and other sites like Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha).
View Larger Map
We’ve also added many other kinds of new information to the map, including improved local-language labels and detailed coverage for prominent places like universities and hospitals. For example, the new map shows building outlines, department labels, and colored highlighting for campus grounds at the Gadjah Mada University, one of Indonesia’s largest universities.
View Larger Map
Today’s update also makes our maps more comprehensive by bringing more of Thailand and Indonesia’s natural geography online for everyone to see. The country of Indonesia spans more than 17,000 islands; with today’s update, many of these islands — including Komodo Island, home to some world-famous
dragons
— are appearing on Google Maps for the first time.
View Larger Map
Of course, the world is always changing, and we want Google Maps to change with it. If you happen to notice something on the map that needs updating, you can let us know by clicking the “
Report a problem
” link, which is visible today in the lower right corner of your screen when you’re browsing the map of Thailand or Indonesia. We’ll review your comments and make the appropriate changes to the map; you’ll often see the updates take effect within just a few minutes or hours of the time we verify your feedback!
Today’s updated maps are just another milestone on our never-ending journey to bring you the most accurate and comprehensive maps of the entire world. We hope Google Maps will help you explore your way through Bangkok, Bali, Bandung, and more!
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Maps and Google Earth
Publishing more detailed maps of North Korea
January 28, 2013
Update (1/28 6:14p PST): The map of North Korea is now live. Thank you for your patience.
Update (1/28): Sorry for the delay. The map of North Korea will be available soon. We'll update this post again when it is live.
The goal of
Google Maps
is to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate, and easy-to-use modern map of the world. As part of this mission, we’re constantly working to add more detailed map data in areas that traditionally have been mostly blank. For a long time, one of the largest places with limited map data has been North Korea. But today we are changing that with the addition of more detailed maps of North Korea in Google Maps.
To build this map, a community of citizen cartographers came together in
Google Map Maker
to make their contributions such as adding road names and points of interest. This effort has been active in Map Maker for a few years and today the new map of North Korea is ready and now available on Google Maps. As a result, the world can access maps of North Korea that offer much more information and detail than before.
We know this map is not perfect — one of the exciting things about maps is that the world is a constantly changing place. We encourage people from around the world to continue helping us improve the quality of these maps for everyone with Google Map Maker. From this point forward, any further approved updates to the North Korean maps in Google Map Maker will also appear on Google Maps.
Here are some pictures that highlight the details Map Maker contributors have already added to Google Maps for this country:
Pyongyang (
평양)
Before
Pyongyang (
평양)
After
Since 2008,
Google Map Maker
has enabled anyone with an interest in cartography to update the maps of the areas they know, and improve their level of detail and accuracy. And because no map is perfect and in some parts of the world, map data is very limited, Map Maker is an increasingly important part of how we will build the modern map.
Creating maps is a crucial first step towards helping people access more information about parts of the world that are unfamiliar to them. While many people around the globe are fascinated with North Korea, these maps are especially important for the citizens of South Korea who have ancestral connections or still have family living there.
We thank all the Map Maker contributors who continue to create helpful maps for people around the world. If you want to see the global community’s hard work in real time, visit
Map Maker Pulse
. While we have published the North Korean maps today, we encourage mappers to continue improving the maps of this country — and of course, the
more than 200 other regions
of the world on
Google Map Maker
.
Posted by Jayanth Mysore, Senior Product Manager, Google Map Maker
Expanded coverage of building footprints in Google Maps
October 18, 2012
As we go about our daily travels, we often rely on buildings to orient ourselves, locate landmarks and navigate from place to place. So today, we’re expanding the coverage of building footprints that are already available in
Google Maps
.
Now, you can see 25 million new building footprints that have been added to Google Maps on desktop and mobile across major metropolitan regions in the United States, including Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area. This expansion is part of our ongoing effort to provide you with maps that are as comprehensive as possible.
Before (left) and after (right) screenshots of the map in Houston, Texas, now with building footprints
A neighborhood complete with building footprints in San Diego, California
These building footprints, complete with height detail, are algorithmically created by taking aerial imagery and using computer vision techniques to render the building shapes. This process enables us to provide more building footprints and a more comprehensive and detailed map than ever before.
For areas that you’re familiar with, you can also help ensure that the building footprints are accurate and up-to-date by using our community mapping tool,
Google Map Maker
. In addition to improving the shapes, you can also
assign
your favorite local business to an existing building or draw the building footprint for that business using Map Maker.
For example, I enjoy exploring and updating the map around Detroit, Michigan, where I lived for many years. Now, whenever I go back for a virtual visit, I won’t have to imagine where all the buildings were in my old neighborhood since their footprints have been added for the world to see on Google Maps!
Posted by Bobby Parikh, Engineering Manager
Making exploration easier for people around the world with Google Maps
September 5, 2012
Maps keep our spirit of adventure alive by making it easier for us to explore the world around us. That’s why today, we’re making Google Maps even better with new turn-by-turn navigation with traffic conditions, biking directions, Map Maker and new Street View imagery in more locations globally. These improvements are part of our ongoing effort to build the best map we can -- one that’s comprehensive, accurate and easy for you to use.
First, we’re expanding
Google Maps Navigation (Beta)
with voice guided, turn-by-turn directions in thousands of towns across
India
. Navigation is one of the most frequently requested features in this region and can be especially helpful when driving in densely populated cities like Delhi or Bangalore. We’re also adding
live traffic conditions
for major roads with estimated travel times to help you save time and to reduce stress on the road.
Turn-by-turn voice navigation in New Delhi, India
Biking directions
and
Map Maker
are also now rolling out to
New Zealanders
. Local cyclists can access biking directions directly on Google Maps, and use Map Maker to add bike lanes and trails if their favorite route is missing or they discover a new one. Beyond biking trails, Map Maker can also be used to make the New Zealand map more accurate with details such as new road names, building footprints and more.
Biking directions from Remuera in Auckland to the local Google office
Later today, we’ll also release new Street View imagery for more than 150 university campuses globally. With classes just getting started, freshman students, transfers and even empty-nesting parents can now familiarize themselves with college campuses around the world, including UCLA in the U.S., Pembroke College in the U.K., McGill University in Canada and Sophia University in Japan. These new panoramic views join our
growing list of universities
whose campuses are already available in Google Maps.
View Larger Map
Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles
Finally, to celebrate all the places you can reach with Google Maps—all seven continents, the sky, the moon and even the depths of the ocean—we made a video that we hope will inspire you to keep exploring.
Keep exploring at
maps.google.com/helloworld
. Here’s to many new adventures.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
Google Maps Roundup: From Canada to Latin America to Europe, August was a busy month!
August 31, 2012
We’re always working to make Google Maps even more comprehensive, accurate and useful. This month, we’ve crisscrossed the globe gathering more imagery, expanding features and growing our Map Maker community. In case you missed it, here are a few Google Maps highlights from August:
Explore amazing places with new Street View imagery
We recently released Street View imagery for more places around the world, making Google Maps even more comprehensive, including:
6,000 panoramic views in and around NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center
, enabling space enthusiasts around the world to walk in the footsteps of astronauts.
More than
7
0 cities
in Brazil and
30 Mesoamerican archaeological sites
in Mexico.
Stay tuned for imagery from
Cambridge Bay
, a tiny hamlet in Canada’s Arctic, where the Street View team is collecting imagery with the
trike
.
Get around more easily with the help of Google Maps
With enhanced directions, transit information and traffic data, Google Maps can help you get where you want to go more quickly.
We added turn-by-turn, voice-guided
biking navigation
to Google Maps Navigation (Beta) in 12 countries--more than 330,000 miles of biking directions are now available.
For those of you taking public transportation,
Google Maps now has public transportation schedules for
more than one million transit stops
worldwide in nearly
500 cities
, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
To make it easier for you to travel by car, we launched
real-time traffic conditions
for more than 130 cities in the U.S., plus the capital cities of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Contribute your local knowledge to Google Maps
Volunteer mappers can improve the accuracy and detail of the maps of their countries.
Our community mapping tool,
Google
Map Maker
, became available in
Ukraine and Poland
, joining more than 200 other countries and regions where Map Maker is already available.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Maps and Earth
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