New tool should help to make Apple Maps better

As is well known, working on online cards never stops. Roads and rail connections change, restaurants close or move. It is correspondingly important to continue maintaining the data. Apple now wants to be helped by external employees for its in-house card app-more precisely: by means of crowdsourcing. The company has now published a brand new app that should make it easier.

App only for internal use

The tool called Apple Maps Surveyor has been published in the American App Store for the iPhone and could at least partially automate the process. At first it is only intended for internal use. “Surveyor helps Apple to improve maps by collecting data such as pictures of street signs and other details on the side of the road while it is on a assigned route,” the company writes. A screenshot (see above) is attached, which shows how an iPhone leaves a certain route, while a percentage indicates the area that has already been covered.

The app name itself, “Surceyor”, stands in English (also) for land vermeters. According to Macrumors, Apple seems to be planning with To cooperate companiesthat in turn distribute tasks to people. One of the partners is the crowdsourcing portal Premisebut more could also be added later.

Land measurement with crowdtaskers

Premise is a so -called Task Marketplace, which works similarly to Amazon's Mechanical Turk and offers comparatively simple tasks against minor rewards. In connection with Surveyor, this could be the photography of street signs and traffic lights as well as other geographical characteristics so that Apple can place details precisely on the map.

So far, Premise is not said to be among the Apple Maps partners, but the surveyor app looks as if the use has now started. The aim is that Apple Maps is up to date even with small details. Premise is currently collecting information for various websites, including opening times and prices. Such companies are also increasingly being used to create training data for AI systems.