4 ms·

Inside Google’s Fascinating Stash of 10,000 Indoor Maps

19 points by nsns 14y ago

barista 14y ago
hmmmm. Bing added this feature way before Google did and not even a single mention in the article... http://siliconfilter.com/bing-maps-for-mobile-goes-indoors-with-mall-and-airport-maps/ http://siliconfilter.com/bing-maps-for-mobile-goes-indoors-w...
mc32 14y ago
I'd love to see their detailed maps of Casinos worldwide --what mazes.
sxtxixtxcxh 14y ago
it's more than just indoor maps... there's indoor street view: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&hl=en&sll=47.671465,-122.317262&layer=c&cid=6390701145359639987&panoid=oOIM-GjOkmZGxy3EKckZNA&cbp=13,11.34,,0,19.31&hq=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&t=h&cbll=47.671453,-122.317357&z=21 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&hl=...
samstave 14y ago
This space will get interesting, but its going to take a while. The issue is that indoor maps are non-actionable. Further, there is a lot of infrastructure and coordination required to get indoor location. There are a lost of people working on this (I am one - we have a patent for determining indoor location on the client side, meaning from the mobile device, rather than server side) - but there are a lot of other layers needed to make this a service that has more than one dimension. First you need the map, with the ability to display the map on your device. Obviously this has been solved. Then you need to locate yourself on the map. There are a range of ways to do this and some really interesting solutions. Such as the magnetic anomaly fingerprinting, WIFI triangulation ala Cisco MSE and RSSI triangulation on the client with a corelation to the X/Y given you know the location of the WAPs. The above solves "show me where I am on the indoor map" - but this is a very one dimensional utility. If this is the solution, then there is no way in hell you can monetize this well. Its a feature, not a product. So you need to be able to take action based on that location. This is where the problem gets harder as you need to start integrating with 3rd party services to be able to take actions based on proximity... This is the secret sauce. So i wont reveal who the traitor is, or when we'll attack. But when we do, he'll know! He'll know that it IS I BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN WHO ENCOMPASSES HIS DOOM! er... sorry - but I am very excited about what we have coming out soon!
Samuel_Michon 14y ago
It's only available in the Maps app on Android. There's no support for other mobile platforms or even the Google Maps website. Until that changes, most companies won't bother to send their floor maps to Google.

19 points by nsns 14y ago

hmmmm. Bing added this feature way before Google did and not even a single mention in the article... http://siliconfilter.com/bing-maps-for-mobile-goes-indoors-with-mall-and-airport-maps/ http://siliconfilter.com/bing-maps-for-mobile-goes-indoors-w...

mc32 14y ago

I'd love to see their detailed maps of Casinos worldwide --what mazes.

sxtxixtxcxh 14y ago

it's more than just indoor maps... there's indoor street view: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&hl=en&sll=47.671465,-122.317262&layer=c&cid=6390701145359639987&panoid=oOIM-GjOkmZGxy3EKckZNA&cbp=13,11.34,,0,19.31&hq=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&t=h&cbll=47.671453,-122.317357&z=21 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cafe+racer+seattle+wa&hl=...

samstave 14y ago

This space will get interesting, but its going to take a while. The issue is that indoor maps are non-actionable. Further, there is a lot of infrastructure and coordination required to get indoor location. There are a lost of people working on this (I am one - we have a patent for determining indoor location on the client side, meaning from the mobile device, rather than server side) - but there are a lot of other layers needed to make this a service that has more than one dimension. First you need the map, with the ability to display the map on your device. Obviously this has been solved. Then you need to locate yourself on the map. There are a range of ways to do this and some really interesting solutions. Such as the magnetic anomaly fingerprinting, WIFI triangulation ala Cisco MSE and RSSI triangulation on the client with a corelation to the X/Y given you know the location of the WAPs. The above solves "show me where I am on the indoor map" - but this is a very one dimensional utility. If this is the solution, then there is no way in hell you can monetize this well. Its a feature, not a product. So you need to be able to take action based on that location. This is where the problem gets harder as you need to start integrating with 3rd party services to be able to take actions based on proximity... This is the secret sauce. So i wont reveal who the traitor is, or when we'll attack. But when we do, he'll know! He'll know that it IS I BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN WHO ENCOMPASSES HIS DOOM! er... sorry - but I am very excited about what we have coming out soon!

Samuel_Michon 14y ago

It's only available in the Maps app on Android. There's no support for other mobile platforms or even the Google Maps website. Until that changes, most companies won't bother to send their floor maps to Google.