back to article Google adds 25 million grey building 'footprints' to Maps

Google has added 25 million building footprints to its Maps product, giving extra detail to maps of key American cities. Maps that once just showed a road now show the outlines of individual buildings next to that road. And not just big buildings - all the buildings, down to standard residential properties, along with height …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interior plans on Android...

    And on Android, some buildings have interior plan data, e.g. on an Android's built-in Maps app, go to

    38.066155,-97.920842

    and zoom in.

    But only on Android's maps, not on the browser version.

    1. Bob Vistakin
      Facepalm

      It has to be said...

      Presumably this would have automatically been rolled out to iOS, whereas instead their users get to marvel at wibbly wobbly bridges showing routes which were removed in 1957:

      http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/post/33227347622/the-lions-gate-bridge-in-vancouver-looks-a-bit

      1. Si 1

        Re: It has to be said...

        I doubt Google would have rolled this out to iOS, it looks like something that would be added to their vector maps but not the static tiles version that iOS was stuck with. It's probably worth mentioning that Apple's new maps also have building and house outlines for many cities and can also display them in 3D (using a simplified version of the 3D flyover data).

      2. Richard 81

        Re: It has to be said...

        Doubt it. The the map app on iOS was Apple built and lacked a lot of features I frequently use on Android. Now whether that's because Google didn't make those features accessible through the API or that Apple just couldn't be bothered to update it, I don't know.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Was using Maps on Android

    this Wednesday, and I was getting these in South Wales, UK Cardiff to be specific - looked a bit 3D too, and was a residential area.

    Anywhere else?

    1. HyperXP
      Thumb Up

      Re: Was using Maps on Android

      it's been on Cardiff since version 5 of android maps.

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hey...

    I can see my house from here...

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Say what you like

    About privacy, but Google don't half have some clever people working for them.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Say what you like

      How innovative of them, to take drawings from other people and load them into a big database.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Say what you like

        > How innovative of them, to take drawings from other people and load them into a big database.

        Something which, of course, you do every day before breakfast. Where can I see your maps, please?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          IOS 6

          That's where.

          1. Richard 81

            Re: IOS 6

            Good joke. Very funny.

            "Feeding aerial photos into an algorithm, its engineers used computer vision techniques to render shapes of the building, adding a wealth of information to its maps."

            If this is an algorithm they designed, then of course it's bloody innovative. If not, then it's either a novel application or the first large scale application. Either way, Google has the best maps app out there are continuing to improve it. I don't particularly dislike Apple, but no one (other than a raving fanboy) could argue that their map app isn't the worst. It's not even as good as Bing Maps. Yes, I said bloody Bing!

        2. streaky
          Facepalm

          Re: Say what you like

          "Something which, of course, you do every day before breakfast"

          I've done it, also did 1080p HD web based video long before youtube even considered it. The problem is there's no point trying to compete because even if you have a better product 99.99% of people will stick with what they know.

          Also OpenStreetMap does much more complicated stuff than just taking a user generated outline and has been doing for years, which is why they have completely independent mapping data for a large chunk of the planet.

  5. Steve Knox
    Meh

    Technical Doublespeak

    Feeding aerial photos into an algorithm, its engineers used computer vision techniques to render shapes of the building.

    So they wrote a batch edge-detect Script-Fu in GIMP? Or did they do it the hard way?

    Either way, not really that much of a technological breakthrough...

    1. James Hughes 1

      Re: Technical Doublespeak

      Except they also calculated the height of the buildings as well....

    2. Inertia

      Re: Technical Doublespeak

      The detail is amazing. I can see you waving your willy from here.

    3. An(other) Droid

      Re: Technical Doublespeak

      > Feeding aerial photos into an algorithm, its engineers used computer vision techniques to render shapes of the building.

      > not really that much of a technological breakthrough...

      Of course the way they said it, it sure sounds like one :)

  6. fridaynightsmoke
    Pint

    Had this in Brum for about 3 years.....

    Congrats on catching up, yanks ;)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Wrong picture captions

    The picture captions are incorrect. The top picture shows before (left side) and after (right side).

    The bottom picture is an example of a newly-populated area.

    The pictures are not top picture before, bottom picture after, as they are currently labeled on the Reg.

  8. TeamEvil

    Google announced a few months back that all the user contributed 3D models for Google Earth in major metropolitan would effectively be nuked and replaced with models built and textured using Aerial Photography.

    It pissed of a fair amount of users who had built the models in Sketchup, especially those that made a money making business from it.

  9. NomNomNom

    Useful information for terrorists and presumably others

    1. DapaBlue

      ...and those working in counter-terrorism.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      Havn't you heard terroists use X.25 still. But this does offer the ability to grasp were you are with reference points a little bit easier on the common map without having to toggle between sat view and normal. All just to guage were you are as streets tend to have there names at the end and then, can be a case of find the street sign. So this does have those non terroists uses.

  10. Rob 5

    Isn't the whole "OMG!!!The Terr'rists!!!!!" thing getting a bit old by now?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Tell it the politicians.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Childcatcher

      Maybe, it was last decades slogan, with the 90's being think of the children. Any suggestions, think of the TAX dogers perhaps for this decade? Besides at least every new technology isn't lambasted with "So how does this improve the enviroment?" arguments, yet. Still if we plan it out now by the time we all retire we can hopefully get the meme around to "think of the old people", probably a better pension policey in todays world.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Back in 2003...

    ... I used to work at a company that had outlines and heights available for the maps programme they sold. It was fun playing with the X version of the app, which wasn't available outside of the company. Then they focused on mobile and the feature went away. And now google reintroduces it. Oh well.

    1. Turtle

      Re: Back in 2003...

      "Back in 2003 I used to work at a company that had outlines and heights available for the maps programme they sold. [...] And now google reintroduces it. Oh well."

      If they have patents on it, or parts of it, then your "Oh well" could end up needing to be changed to "The luckiest move of their lives was getting those patents and then, effectively although by accident, hiding the product, so that Google didn't know the prior product even existed, and so did not research the relevant patents, and therefore could not engineer around those patents; and then when the patent-holders went to see a lawyer, a jury would not let Google worm its way out of having to pay $125 million for infringing those patents. And they lived pleasurably and opulently ever after. Nice!"

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: Back in 2003...

        > If they have patents

        Patents on putting "outlines and heights" on a map? Apple-level inventiveness, fer sure.

        1. James Hughes 1

          Re: Back in 2003...

          Nothing difficult about putting numbers on the map.

          But how did they work out the numbers....? That's the interesting bit, and what a load of commentards here appear to have skimmed over.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Working out the numbers

            IIRC they got the outlines and the height numbers too from the local land registry, back then. Now, maybe google will be using their laser scanners with fancy inference algorithms, that's come a ways.

            The main reasons to drop the feature were local storage (a 512MB mmc or sd was considered BIG back then) and a desire to cram as much routes and maps in the available space as possible, though probably also then-contemporary smartphone processing power. Now, of course, google's assumptions will be a tad different.

  12. Jolyon Smith
    Coat

    "Computer Vision Techniques"

    That would be "Image Analysis" then.

    Sheesh.

    Digital impact signal anaylsis input instrument. Keyboard.

    Regulated photon emission output device. Monitor.

    Mine's the one with the unnecessary jargon-speak in the convenient manual access storage/retrieval area.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I discovered today that they also map the inside of Europcar vans!

    https://www.google.co.uk/maps?ll=51.514154,-0.139223&spn=0.001587,0.004128&cbp=12,52.44,,0,15.21&t=m&layer=c&cbll=51.514278,-0.139322&panoid=VhLc92jk5sAwoqVxxdAj8Q&z=19

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      Re: I discovered today that they also map the inside of Europcar vans!

      Now that's impressive.

  14. unitron
    Alien

    So disappointed...

    ...I misread it as "Google adds 25 million grey building 'footprints' to Mars."

  15. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    How can I contribute fake data for my house?

    I'd like to overlay a false huge mansion over my more modest digs.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How can I contribute fake data for my house?

      > I'd like to overlay a false huge mansion over my more modest digs.

      I'd like to do the opposite and claim council tax back.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    omg building footprints

    how will this help me (Stroke my dick)

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    LIDAR or Stereoscopy?

    Which technique or combination of techniques are used for this? My guess is on LIDAR but could anyone please confirm?

  18. Nick Pettefar

    Apple Maps

    I used my iPad to navigate across Yorkshire last weekend and it performed admirably. Just saying. Manchester was pretty good with the buildings, etc.

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