What are some unknown facts about Google Maps?
Some of the most interesting and weird facts about Google Maps are:The compound where Osama Bin Laden was shot, can be found on Google maps.23 is the maximum zoom level, only available for small number of areas. While 20 is maximum for most areas.The time saved per day of using Google maps navigation routing is functionally 2 years.It’s 12 billion miles per year that Google maps navigation has guided Android phone users.Google is taking the advantage of reCAPTCHA system, by getting people to decode pictures of street addresses for Google maps.The largest natural bridge on the earth was virtually unknown, until it was discovered on Google maps.Google uses our phones to collect data for google traffic.Google’s maps framework and a bit of Javascript, and you can see what would happen if nuclear bomb goes off in your city.A 1000 years old ‘fish trap’ made of stones was found off the British coast with Google maps.Google maps show detailed view of North Korea, but doesn’t work with South Korea. (Edited)If you search for homes on Google maps, it shows all the homes in area for sale and their prices. (specific)The Street View team has taken tens of million of images since 2007, and they’ve driven more than 5 million miles of road.Street View camera system have 15 lenses and can produce images at about 65 Megapixels resolution.Google maps almost caused a war between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.Google Earth has built in flight simulator.Titanic (Shipwreck) can be seen from Google earth.If you want your house blurred on Street View, you can do it by requesting Google.You can see where the Google Street View cars are currently driving.Source: GoogleImage Source: GoogleNote: Some information is specific to particular places, it might not apply to every country in the world. #government_interferenceNote: Please don’t suggest me to interchange the Names of North and South Korea. That fact mentioned above is correct, that’s why it’s an unknown fact.
How old is the maps we see on Google map?
According to How Often is Google Maps and Google Earth Updated?, no map is older than 3 years old, with relatively regular updates on different zones. I'm not sure if the date at the bottomright of the interface reflects te actual date of the satellite shot, however on Google Street View we have a more precise date:
How does Google Maps Traffic work? How does it know the speed of traffic on a road?
As you know, Google Maps is available on Android, iPhone and other operating systems and indicates traffic congestion by highlighting the streets in red, yellow or green depending on how bad the traffic is.How do they do that? I mean, how do they know the traffic congestion in cities around the globe? More importantly, how do they get that information so quickly?I always assumed Google had worked out deals with various Departments of Transportation around the globe. My thinking was that Google would get updates on traffic from these departments and upload the information into their computers.Not.Google, being the smart folks that they are, figured out an even more ingenious way to collect the data. But before I tell you their solution, why don’t you pause for a moment and see if you can figure it out. (If you can, you’re much smarter than I am. I’ve pondered this for quite a while — okay, I’m boring that way — and never arrived at Google’s amazingly simple solution.)Ready for the answer?Rather than setting up agreements with hundreds of departments around the U.S. (and around the globe), Google lets the data do the talking. (No surprise, given the fact that the company employs tens of thousands of world class statisticians.)What do I mean when I say that Google lets the data do the talking? It’s simple, really. Google’s Android Operating System tracks the movement of people carrying their phones. In other words, they track the statistical data that shows where Android users are at that moment. because Google tracks anonymous data. (Relax, privacy advocates.) In other words, Google doesn’t know that you’re stuck in traffic, they simply know that thousands of anonymous bits of data are stuck in traffic.Congratulations. You’re a bit of data. :p
How do Indians feel when they go back to live in India after living in US for 5+ years?
Here is a word of advice for all NRI's who are looking to move back to India."If you are looking to move to India because you are bored of your job in the US or feel there are more opportunities here, then DON'T move back"I moved to Gurgaon 6 months back and its been a mix of pleasure and pain :)Its dusty, dirty, noisy, crowded, humid with crappy roads, even more crappier condos etc etc..you get the drift.If you want to live in a condo like you lived in the US, it will cost you atleast a lakh per month :)Most service providers and handymen will not be on time and will even be very blase about it.Shopping for good quality veggies and fruits is a pain.The fine line between a weekday and the weekend usually blurs.Maids and cooks are supposed to be a convenience but they are usually a pain in the neck because you gotta supervise them and keep an eye on them.Options for weekend breaks are very limited.If Google Maps says you will reach a place in 6 hours, it will take anywhere between 10-16hours.Sports facilities are pretty limited and the ones that are available are pretty expensive.The gyms here are crappy and are usually in the basement of some house nearby. There are good ones but usually very far from where you live and the commute is just not worth it.5kms of travel is like 25 miles of travel here.If you have been out of India for more than 3+ years, and have not been here in the last 3 years, you will get THE STICKER SHOCK of your life when you get back.Stuff has become frightfully expensive...some examples include petrol, wine, fine dining, movie tickets etc etc.Basically, everything is available here but at a price. You can almost duplicate your US lifestyle but the cost will be directly similar to what it was in the US. The only difference will be a drop in your salary (And this is if you were living in NYC or SFO. If you are living in Dallas or somewhere in the midwest in a $800/2BR apartment, the fun will be even more)Well, that's the bad part.Now to the good parts even though they may seem a bit vague :)Its home and I feel more 'alive' here.The food somehow tastes better.There is a notional sense of freedom (like zipping on the expressway at midnight without worrying about a cop car on your back)
Where does Google Maps get its traffic data from? Is there any research paper that I can reference?
Google Maps bases its traffic views and faster-route recommendations on two different kinds of information: 1. Historic Data2. Real Time DataHistorical data is the average time it takes to travel a particular section of road at specific times on specific daysReal-Time data is sent by smartphones (GPS) that report how fast cars are moving right then.When Smart phone users turn on their Google Maps app with GPS location enabled, the phone sends back bits of data, anonymously, to Google that let the company know how fast their cars are moving.Google Maps continuously combines the data coming in from all the cars on the road and sends it back by way of those colored lines on the traffic layers.The colors (in the above image) indicate the speed of traffic on the road.Blue means there are no traffic delays.Orange means there's a medium amount of traffic.Red means there are traffic delays. The more red, the slower the speed of traffic on the road.Grey lines show alternate routes.Historical data are important because it's hard to acquire enough real-time information to make traffic forecasts. Think of the complications involved. There aren't that many people with smartphones driving any given road at a given moment, and not all of them will have enabled their data-sharing software.In addition, some of the phones will be red herrings with respect to traffic. Some, for example, will be in the pockets of walkers or in the baskets of bicycles. Others might be in a car that has pulled over or is looking for a parking spot.When you plug a destination into your smartphone, the program's first estimate of travel time is based on this historical information. Only then does it begin to add in information from users traveling your route right now.Hence by using realtime data from smartphones and historic data, google maps is able to show traffic situation and faster route recommendations.
How often is Google Street View updated?
It varies significantly depending on the location. The long-term vision for Street View is to have a comprehensive, up-to-date representation of the world, so anyone can virtually visit any place on Earth. As you can imagine, there are significant challenges to doing that, namely (1) comprehensive coverage (the world is big and has lots of places that are difficult to capture), and (2) the world is always changing. In an effort to get full coverage, the team needs to prioritize getting Street View images in places where it hasn't been before. Sometimes, this is difficult because of local governments & regulations, and sometimes it's difficult because of logistics. In addition to the standard Street View operations expanding into new countries and places, there are a number of other efforts to help with coverage, such as:Street View Treks: the camera is attached to a backpack, rather than a car, which allows for the capture of Street View images in places that cars can't go (https://www.google.com/intl/en-U...)Photo Sphere: user-generated Street View -- anyone can take panoramic images on their phones and share them with Google to be used in Google Maps, just like Street View (https://www.google.com/intl/en-U...)Business View: Street View inside of businesses (https://www.google.com/intl/en-U...)Secondly, because the world is always changing, it's not sufficient to only capture a location once, and so the frequency of re-capture is mostly prioritized towards places that are important and/or change often (e.g. major metropolitan cities). Having spent a few years working closely with the Street View team, I can tell you that they're also constantly improving the operations and technology to be able to continuously capture images of the world.You can find the places where the Street View cars are currently driving here: https://www.google.com/intl/en-U...On the web, there's also a feature where you can see a timeline of all of the Street View images of a specific location. This will give you a sense for how often Street View images are taken at that location.You can see the official announcement for that feature here: Go back in time with Street View
How does Google give live traffic updates?
Dear Sri,Initially google maps was using the rss feeds from the Indian traffic sites but lately they changed that model to take the location updates from users phones. Imagine that if you are stuck in traffic then the first thing that you do is go online and browse the internet all while being connected with google sites or being logged in because there are very few people who genuinely log out on their devices like ever.Google uses this as a source of information by tapping into your cell signals and noting the time taken to travel from point A to B and estimating the traffic on the route.Hope this helps.