Apple drives vehicles to collect data to improve Maps

Apple Inc said it was driving vehicles around the world to collect data that will be used to improve Apple Maps.  The company has given driving locations on its website for June 15-30 which include Ireland, England and several cites in the United States.

Apple said it would blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication to protect privacy.

The camera-equipped vehicles deployed by Apple will give its Maps app functions similar to Google Inc’s Street View.  Street View, launched in 2007, gives users a panoramic imagery of public roads. The service automatically detects and blurs identifiable faces and vehicle number plates.

According to an earlier report , Apple may be working towards getting its Apple Maps service to other platforms such as Android. A new job listing  has been spotted for a Maps JavaScript Engineer, whose role will be ‘to help make maps work seamlessly on the Web.’

The listing also points out that Apple may have plans to introduce a Web-based Maps service for users apart from those who already have the service on iOS and OS X. The job listing was first spotted by Benedict Evans on Twitter.

According to the listing, the candidate must have a deep knowledge of JavaScript, as the company might have plans for its Web-based Maps service to be a cross-platform solution. The company is also looking for a candidate well versed with HTML and CSS and the ideal applicant should have a ‘proven track record of shipping excellent client-side web applications.’ The position available is full-time and based at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters.

With inputs from Reuters