Google updates Maps for 10 European countries and regions, claims 27.9 million miles of road under its belt

Google updates Maps for 10 European countries and regions, claims 27.9 million miles of road under its belt

Google’s just flipped the switch on updates for its maps of ten European countries and regions: Andorra, Bulgaria, Estonia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. As part of Page And Co.’s Ground Truth project, the refresh increases the accuracy and detail of maps by combining human input with a wide array of data, such as satellite and Street View imagery. With the refresh, Google’s cartography has been spruced up with building outlines, walking paths, ferry lines, park boundaries, new highways and more. The update brings the number of countries mapped as part of the search titan’s Ground Truth initiative to 40, and pushes the total number of miles of road cataloged in Google Maps to 27.9 million.

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Source: Official Google Blog

Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we’re willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn’t just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company’s Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth — although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.

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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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