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back to article Swarm of Apple iRobots released to map interior of Cupertino HQ

An indoor mapping project at Apple has filled the halls of its Cupertino headquarters with autonomous cartographer droids. Sources tell 9to5Mac that "the company has let loose autonomous robots with iBeacon sensors, similar in size to iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners, to collect data for its indoor mapping project." While …

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  1. TRT Silver badge

    If they find...

    any 9 foot tall, pale blue skinned bald guys, I'm outta there!

    2 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Quick question?

    "letting fanbois use Apple Maps to find their way around public transport networks."

    Is that in the same as Here Transit on Windows Phone?

    0 0 Reply
    1. getHandle
      Reply Icon

      Re: Quick question?

      In the same what? Fail?

      1 0 Reply
  3. Nifty Silver badge

    I think we already called the clipboard-bearers who do the office layout and office population check 'headcount droids'.

    The info is fed into an algorithm that decides the next office site closure.

    1 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Ay, ca-Roomba

    > the company has let loose autonomous robots with iBeacon sensors, similar in size to iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners, to collect data for its indoor mapping project

    If they'd used real Roombas then they could have vacuumed the floor at the same time.

    5 0 Reply
  5. Tromos

    Apple HQ

    Their building appears to have taken the concept of rounded corners to the extreme.

    3 0 Reply
    1. Sir Sham Cad
      Reply Icon

      Re: Apple HQ

      Just wait until they find out about GCHQ Cheltenham!

      3 0 Reply
  6. BeerTokens

    you have to be pretty scared of the boss,

    If you go to all the trouble of mapping the brand new hq instead of having to admit you lost the plans!

    2 0 Reply
    1. paulej72
      Reply Icon

      Re: you have to be pretty scared of the boss,

      As anyone familiar with big construction, as-built is not the same as as-planned. Getting the final as-built plans for a building from the contractor can be as a painstaking process as getting the building done in the first place. Now if these devices can do the as built plans that would be a great benefit to a contractor.

      0 0 Reply
      1. TRT Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: you have to be pretty scared of the boss,

        I think it's more along the lines of checking a known set of plans against what the scutters gather.

        1 0 Reply
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: you have to be pretty scared of the boss,

      Except they said they are being released now, so they're talking about mapping the current HQ and not the new one.

      I'll bet one of the useful things this will do is tell you where everyone and everything is so if you know John Smith is at cube 2312A or you have a meeting in conference room M425 you don't have to hunt around for 10 minutes trying to find it. I wish I could have used my phone to find my way in certain buildings that seemed to have had their rooms designated using a random number generator...

      2 0 Reply
      1. TRT Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: you have to be pretty scared of the boss,

        At least the rooms aren't numbered in binary, or named after pieces of fruit or chocolate bars or English monarchs or something... Can you imagine that? I'm trying to find room "King John". Now was that before or after King William II? I know up the corridor that way is present day... Queen Elizabeth II was the toilets... ha! The Throne Room, very good...

        0 0 Reply

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