Google Map Maker became available in 164 developing countries

In late February, Google displayed the progress of the Google Map Maker program and made it possible to use 16 maps of developing countries (from Zimbabwe to Bhutan). The main peculiarity of these maps is that they have been created directly by visitors of this popular Internet resource.

The first country whose inhabitants have access to the Map Maker was India. Currently, the program functions in 164 developing countries, where Google Maps created on the database AND and TeleAtlas have gaps in coverage.

Compared with the service Open Source, provided by the Project Open Street Maps, all maps created in Map Maker belong to Google. However, this fact does not discourage enthusiasts.

The program is simple and clear. For better visualization users are shown a short video, which demonstrates the process of creation of Islabada map.

However, Google does not plan to stop the development. In addition to mapping data of the companies and information from Map Maker users, there is another source of data - photos and videos. Special vehicles ride through the streets of major cities and get information for the service Street View, launched in 2007. In addition to cameras, cars are equipped with special devices - laser scanners SICK, that enable to obtain three-dimensional image for three-dimensional maps and professional GPS-navigation.

On top of that Google obtains map data via Google Maps for mobile devices, thanks to which tracks of millions of phones users with integrated GPS-receivers become accessible. This allows to update the data in due time, to edit and supplement maps. This method is also used by TeleAtlas, which receives information from the navigators TomTom via MapShare.

All of the above mentioned methods allow saving a lot money and are actively used by companies to increase coverage and develop their own maps.