Apple is preparing a major surprise for Apple Maps in 2017, the Americans intending to offer us a localization system inside buildings. Those from Cupertino have been developing this system for some time, but it seems to be well enough prepared to be offered to regular users as early as next year.
Apple wants to add a special section in Apple Maps in which it will display information about locations inside buildings, and for a start important buildings will be mapped. More precisely, we are talking about airports, museums and other buildings visited by many people every day, malls and other tourist buildings that can be mapped.
Google already has a system of this kind and has mapped the interior of many buildings in various important cities on the planet, the information being available in Google Maps. The system has been launched for some time and is very popular, so Apple must catch up with Google from this point of view.
Apple Maps – location in buildings and drones used for mapping
Separately, in order to further improve the data in Apple Maps, the Apple company intends to use a "fleet" of drones, which will collect data for Apple Maps. These drones would analyze street signs, information about the roads under construction and many other data, which will then be displayed in Apple Maps.
Apple would develop a series of its own drones to improve Apple Maps, but it will not market such products, or at least these are not the plans now. Apple already uses cars, but drones allow it to access areas that wouldn't normally be that easy to access, so we're talking about a major improvement for data collection.
"Apple Inc. plans to use drones and new indoor navigation features to improve its Maps service and catch longtime leader Google, according to people familiar with the matter. The Cupertino, California-based company is assembling a team of robotics and data-collection experts that will use drones to capture and update map information faster than its existing fleet of camera-and-sensor laden minivans, one of the people said. "
How long it will take until all these functions will be available, no one knows yet, so it remains to be seen what we will receive in the near future.
