Google Maps was originally created by a small team in Australia and later acquired by Google. It provides search and navigation features but also involves many challenges including accurately displaying map tiles across different countries and languages, aligning road and satellite imagery, interpreting complex address searches, calculating multi-modal directions, integrating real-time traffic data, addressing privacy and data ownership issues, and storing the massive volume of map and image data required. Developing and maintaining Google Maps requires a large interdisciplinary team across engineering, product management, legal, business and other functions all working towards Google's mission of organizing the world's information.
An introduction to using the Google Maps API in Javascript. Includes sample code. Presented at the West Suburban Chicago PHP Meetup on January 9, 2009. Visit us on the web at suburbanchicagophp.org.
SII-PIV 54 Spatial and Environmental Injury Surveillance, based on Cape Town, South Africa. So what is the project about? It is about seeing if we can use the geospatial web to work with trauma surgeons, nurses, health officials, to represent trauma injury data in a useful way. It is very informal due to working with coarse data, poor and dangerous neighbourhoods. We focus on ‘one on one’ interactions between the user and the application. And lastly, we hope that these tools will be practical in the health world.
An introduction to using the Google Maps API in Javascript. Includes sample code. Presented at the West Suburban Chicago PHP Meetup on January 9, 2009. Visit us on the web at suburbanchicagophp.org.
SII-PIV 54 Spatial and Environmental Injury Surveillance, based on Cape Town, South Africa. So what is the project about? It is about seeing if we can use the geospatial web to work with trauma surgeons, nurses, health officials, to represent trauma injury data in a useful way. It is very informal due to working with coarse data, poor and dangerous neighbourhoods. We focus on ‘one on one’ interactions between the user and the application. And lastly, we hope that these tools will be practical in the health world.
What are Google maps and Way use anyway
History behind the Google maps
What difference dose it make to us Advantages and loose of using Google Maps
Trends in the usage of googol map API
Basic concept of an API
Some practical examples of Google maps real time , time reversal , cause
References
Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. Google Maps began as a C++ desktop program designed by Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. More information the visit :- https://abhiandroid.com/programming/googlemaps
The ability to virtually visit real places offers practical and yet immersive ways to carry out real-life tasks. Services such as Google Street View allow language learning activities to focus on more descriptive language, while remaining relevant to the learners’ everyday life.
www.avatarlanguages.com
From open geographical data to tangible maps: improving the accessibility of ...GeoVIS'15 Workshop
Visual maps must be transcribed into (interactive) raised-line maps to be accessible for visually impaired people. However, these tactile maps suffer from several shortcomings: they are long and expensive to produce, they cannot display a large amount of information, and they are not dynamically modifiable. A number of methods have been developed to automate the production of raised-line maps, but there is not yet any tactile map editor on the market. Tangible interactions proved to be an efficient way to help a visually impaired user manipulate spatial representations. Contrary to raised-line maps, tangible maps can be autonomously constructed and edited. In this paper, we present the scenarios and the main expected contributions of the AccessiMap project, which is based on the availability of many sources of open spatial data: 1/ facilitating the production of interactive tactile maps with the development of an open-source web-based editor; 2/ investigating the use of tangible interfaces for the autonomous construction and exploration of a map by a visually impaired user.
How to mash up Google Maps to create location-based interactive media. By Daniella Peting, student in School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago.
What are Google maps and Way use anyway
History behind the Google maps
What difference dose it make to us Advantages and loose of using Google Maps
Trends in the usage of googol map API
Basic concept of an API
Some practical examples of Google maps real time , time reversal , cause
References
Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. Google Maps began as a C++ desktop program designed by Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. More information the visit :- https://abhiandroid.com/programming/googlemaps
The ability to virtually visit real places offers practical and yet immersive ways to carry out real-life tasks. Services such as Google Street View allow language learning activities to focus on more descriptive language, while remaining relevant to the learners’ everyday life.
www.avatarlanguages.com
From open geographical data to tangible maps: improving the accessibility of ...GeoVIS'15 Workshop
Visual maps must be transcribed into (interactive) raised-line maps to be accessible for visually impaired people. However, these tactile maps suffer from several shortcomings: they are long and expensive to produce, they cannot display a large amount of information, and they are not dynamically modifiable. A number of methods have been developed to automate the production of raised-line maps, but there is not yet any tactile map editor on the market. Tangible interactions proved to be an efficient way to help a visually impaired user manipulate spatial representations. Contrary to raised-line maps, tangible maps can be autonomously constructed and edited. In this paper, we present the scenarios and the main expected contributions of the AccessiMap project, which is based on the availability of many sources of open spatial data: 1/ facilitating the production of interactive tactile maps with the development of an open-source web-based editor; 2/ investigating the use of tangible interfaces for the autonomous construction and exploration of a map by a visually impaired user.
How to mash up Google Maps to create location-based interactive media. By Daniella Peting, student in School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago.
Hello Dear Friends, Collogues and Students,
I am Prijith Jacob Thomas working with Fatima Mata National College, Kollam Kerala India. This presentation was prepared during my services as librarian Mar Athansios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla. The purpose of this presentation is purely academic. I happen to go through a Book titled “ Google Secrets by Yvette Davis Published by Wiley India Pvt Ltd. When I went through that document the scope of Google search and services of Google was really amazing. Then I decided to share this information in the form a presentation.
Prijith Jacob Thomas
Librarian UGC
Fatima Mata National College
Kollam
Kerala
www.prijith.wordpress.com
As a part of the Strategy Assignment during MBA. We tried to create a Strategic Landscape of Google Inc. This is one of the best presentations we ever made. I made it with my friends Abhishesh Kumar Sharma and Virindersingh Villkhoo
Location, Location, Location? Legal and Privacy Issues around Processing of P...lilianedwards
Many "web 2.0" websites and smartphone apps now collect locational data of persons for everything from harmless games to socially useful applications such as anti-kettling apps or crime or traffic congestion maps. How far does ubiquitous collection of " where you are" endanger personal privacy, and how far is it controlled by the informed consent of the data subject? What balance should be struck with the social utility of collecting locational data||? THis ppt discusses some of the (mainly EU) legal issues against the technological/social background - further work needed.
No pain, no gain. CSS Code Reviews FTW.Stacy Kvernmo
CSS is often overlooked as something that would require a code review. The test for good CSS has been "Does everything look good?"
With the complexity and scale of our projects these days, "looks good" is simple not enough. This presentation dives into what it takes to create or progress a positive and beneficial code review process for yourself or your team.
Geolocation and mapping using Google Maps servicesIvano Malavolta
Introduction
Geolocation
Google Maps Services
This presentation has been developed in the context of the Mobile Applications Development course, DISIM, University of L'Aquila (Italy), Spring 2014.
http://www.ivanomalavolta.com
12 Values and Skills Gained Through Contemplative Practices in Higher EducationWiley
Faculty across disciplines, from neuroscience to art history, are searching for new ways to incorporate contemplative practices into their teaching. Contemplative practices help students develop a deeper understanding of the material through various methods including meditation, deep listening, and mindfulness, just to name a few. Many values and skills are gained through these practices, and the benefits extend well beyond the classroom. Learn more about the many benefits of contemplative practices.
Talking about improving the use of maps in our web pages, particularly for applications like real estate where the key information (and goal) is inherently spatial. Was a 20x20 (Pecha Kucha) style presentation at the Auckland Web Meetup, August 2008.
Finding Your Way - Big Data vs. Wayfinding On Your Campus - #heweb15 #aim7farktal
Wayfinding and map data: so many (conflicting) data sources out there, so little time . And so much potential for losing your future students before you can even make the pitch. We’ll look at ways to correct your campus data in major mapping systems, and then look at some fairly easy-to-build and inexpensive options for building mobile-friendly interactive maps for your campus. (HighEdWeb 2015 Conference, AIM7 Track Session)
A Comparison of Online Map Services, Map development, and some Web & GPS tools.
Topics: Classic vs. the New Google Maps and other online map services, developing custom maps with Google Maps JavaScript API, mashups, and a few related Google services tidbits like how to host web pages directly from Google Drive. More info: http://bit.ly/1FDNF99
Finding Your Way - Campus Mapping and Big Data - #econfpsu16farktal
Wayfinding and map data: so many (conflicting) data sources out there, so little time . And so much potential for losing your future students before you can even make the pitch. We’ll look at ways to correct your campus data in major mapping systems, and then look at some fairly easy-to-build and inexpensive options for building mobile-friendly interactive maps for your campus. (Elements: The Web Conference at Penn State 2016, Marketing Track Session)
ViziCities - Lessons Learnt Visualising Real-world Cities in 3DRobin Hawkes
ViziCities is an open-source 3D city visualisation platform powered by JavaScript, WebGL and many other cutting-edge Web technologies. Think SimCity meets the real world!
In this talk, Robin Hawkes, ViziCities’ creator will highlight the development issues experienced along the way and show you how he overcame them – ranging from how you tackle the realtime processing of thousands of 3D buildings without locking up the browser, to how you visualise the entire world without needing a server or your own geographic data source.
Bringing Cities to Life Using Big Data & WebGLRobin Hawkes
We're creating ViziCities - a 3D city-visualisation platform using WebGL (Three.js) and a raft of other amazing technologies. We'll talk about how we're doing it all with open, big-data, the awesome possibilities that presents and how we've overcome the problems along the way. Think SimCity meets the real world!
Sign up for the beta at http://vizicities.com
This slidedeck presents a brief scan of the web mapping and geographic information (GIS) tools that were explored during the Indigenous Mapping Workshop 2014 (IMW2014) held at the University of Victoria 25-28 August 2014.
The workshop was attended by 100+ participants, representing more than 40 First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities from across Canada.
The Workshop was jointly hosted/organized by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the Firelight Group, Google Earth Outreach, and the University of Victoria, Anthropology Department.
The scan is not comprehensive, favouring the tools that were explored in the Day3/4 "deep dives".
More information on the tools and workshop are available here: http://imwcanada.earthoutreach.org
Making JavaScript Libraries More ApproachablePamela Fox
A talk given at NotConf in Phoenix, Texas in 2012.
(Alternative title: Why nested ternary operators make me want to kick inanimate objects in the nuts.)
A talk given at WDCNZ 2011. Abstract:
"We all know what “user experience” is and we know that it’s important. We analyze drop-off rates for sign-in flows, do A/B testing on color schemes, and organize user focus groups for new features. But we rarely talk about the “developer experience” - what we all go through each time we try to use a developer tool, library, or API. How do we decide what tool to use? Is it easy to integrate with our development environment? How flexible is the API? Where do we go when something goes wrong? Those are the sort of questions that we can ask to understand what it’s like for a developer to use a product - and where it can be improved.
Whether you simply use developer products or you actually build one yourself, you should walk away from this talk with ideas on how to make a great developer experience - and why it matters."
Talk given by Pamela Fox (me) at Ignite Melbourne, all about my favorite type of sleepwear. Remember to submit pics of you in your onesie to footedandfabulous.com!
Presented at Ignite Sydney 2010 as part of Global Ignite week, this talk introduces the ultra feminine Computer Engineer Barbie, and why it's a damn good thing.
Google Wave 20/20: Product, Protocol, PlatformPamela Fox
These slides introduce the various facets of Google Wave. They were originally delivered as a talk in the 20/20 style (20 slides, 20 seconds each) at the Adobe Platform Users Group Sydney. The slides have been captioned with what was approximately said.
Growing up Geek: My Dad, the Computer ScientistPamela Fox
An Ignite talk given at Google I/O, about my life with two geeky parents and how I got involved in web development and related areas.
I've pasted my pre-scripted lines on top of the slides so that it makes sense.
I'm entering this in the Tell a Story contest since it happens to be a story, and there's a checkbox for entering it. :)
Living in the Cloud: Hosting Data & Apps Using the Google InfrastructurePamela Fox
In the modern web, the user rules. Nearly every successful web app has to worry about scaling to an exponentially growing user base and giving those users multiple ways of interacting with their data. Pamela Fox, Maps API Support Engineer & Developer advocate, provides an overview of two technologies - Google App Engine and the Google Data APIs - that aim to make web development and data portability easier.
Most modern websites still place a large burden on the server, constantly sending it requests and asking it to do heavy computations. In the brave new world, the client is king and the server is its faithful shadow. In this talk, we'll look at how cutting-edge technology like Gears, HTML5, and Google App Engine can be used to create websites where the caching, storage, and computing is done primarily in the browser/desktop and the server is used merely as a backup store.
Presented at Webstock 2009.
Original version (not PPTed):
http://tr.im/clientkilledserver
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
2. Google’s mission Organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful This is our mission. Google Search has the obvious goal of collecting all the web pages in the world and making them easy to sort through. But after creating Google search, we soon discovered that there was a lot of other types of information in the world, and a lot of different ways that we could be making that information accessible and useful.
3. How? Products! So, we started creating more products, to deal with the plethora of information on the web. There are a couple ways that products are “born” at Google.
4. But How Are Products Born? = Acquisition One way is through acquisition. Google Maps was a product dreamed up by a handful of enterprising developers in Australia. They made a prototype, pitched it to various companies, and when Larry and Sergey saw it, they thought it was a nice way to make geographic information accessible.. And thus a Google product was born! (..adopted)
5. But How Are Products Born? = Local Need Another reason products start is because of local need. In Australia, people have a particular love for searching real estate listings. We noticed that people were typing housing queries into Google Maps here, and not getting many good results, so we decided we should do something about it. Thus, the Google Real Estate Search project was born, and now fulfills a need in the AU market.
6. But How Are Products Born? = Competitive Need Sometimes products are created because we need them to compete. At Google, we value competition because it makes us work harder. When we came out with Gmail, we noticed Outlook was one of our big competitors, and that they had a useful feature that we didn’t: a calendar. So we created Google Calendar, and made our offering to users much more compelling.
7. But How Are Products Born? = An Idea Sometimes we just think a product is a good idea. At Google, we already have many tools for communication and collaboration: Google docs, Google sites, Gmail, Blogger, etc. But when Lars & Jens (also the creators of Google Maps) proposed Google Wave to Larry and Sergey, they gave them the go-ahead. There are times when we need to experiment with new ideas, even if they’re not necessary or competitive, and hope that they make a revolutionary impact on our total offering.
8. Deep Dive: Google Maps We have a lot of products. And we have a lot of Googlers. That’s because there are a lot of problems to tackle on any given product, and we love tackling problems. (That’s what engineering is!) So, let’s do a deep dive on Google Maps, and what makes it hard.
9.
10. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles But let’s start with the most basic aspect of Google Maps – the road map tiles. When you create roadmap tiles, you are figuring out how to represent a mass of labels, lines, and shapes at various zoom levels. You need to figure out what is the most important label to show, and how to arrange labels so that they don’t overlap and visually overwhelm. This isn’t trivial.
11. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles Now, it’s not too hard when you’re creating maps for just one part of the world. But one of the things that makes Google Maps (and any Google product) so complex is that is an international product, and must cater to users everywhere. So, for example, we have to decide how to show labels of places in foreign character sets, and decide whether to use a user’s current IP location to affect the language of the tiles. In the case of Japan, we show both character sets, and manage to squash it all in.
12. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles There are even more differences when you zoom in to another country, because every country has its own way of getting around and understanding maps. In Japan, they use 7/11 and MacDonalds as landmarks for navigation, so those icons are rendered prominently on the maps. Another difference is in the icons used for things like churches, hospitals, and hotels. In the US, we simply use a steeple as a church. In Japan, we would need to use separate temple and shrine icons to be understandable.
13. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles Now, let’s look at problems with satellite tiles – the imagery that we get from satellites orbiting the earth. First of all, we don’t have enough satellites orbiting everywhere to get real-time data for the whole earth. In fact, much of our imagery can be a year or more old. Right now, we’re standing in a new building.. so new that it appears like a concrete block in the imagery on Maps.
14. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles Sometimes, we do get more up-to-date imagery, but it’s just not great quality. The resolution might be low, or it might be covered in clouds. As much as we beg, we just can’t get clouds to get out of the way when we photograph! So, whenever we get new imagery for an area, we have to carefully analyze its quality and decide whether we should replace the current imagery.
15. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles And sometimes we have to make the decision to use different imagery for two regions that are near to eachother. For example, whenever land meets ocean, we fade between high resolution beach imagery and a very blurry blue – there’s no point in storing high resolution imagery of a bunch of ripples over 70% of the world. In some cases, we use different imagery in the same landmass, and that can sometimes lead to quite a mismatch, as shown above. We haven’t entirely solved this blending and choosing problem.
16. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Tiles Now, after we’ve perfected our road map tiles and satellite tiles, we need to get them to align for our “hybrid” view. That means that even teeny inconsequential country roads need to match up. Considering the vector road data comes from a different source than the satellite imagery, they can be hard to align together.
17. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Searches "Wellington Hotel, 871 Seventh Ave. @55th St, 55 Street, New York" Moving on from the tiles to the searches that you do on top of them. Our search box has to interpret a lot, without much help from the user. It doesn’t make you specify whether you’re looking for addresses or for business, it doesn’t make you specify the country of the thing you’re looking for. It just takes strings from users all over the world, and tries to figure out what the heck they’re looking for. And, wow, addresses can be complex. The example above specifies 3 streets, a business name, and a region name that might be a city or might be a state – and the search engine has to disambiguate all of that.
18. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Directions Driving directions are even harder than searches, because we have to figure out where the first location is, figure out where the second one is, and then find the best route between them. That usually means trying to spend the most amount of time on big roads with higher speed limits, but it also means balancing traffic at different times of day. And sometimes it means kayaking across the ocean with a pit stop in Hawaii.
19. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Directions Driving directions get even harder when you’re giving them for a country that doesn’t name most of it’s streets. Imagine having to tell someone how to get from “Unknown Rd” to “Unknown Rd”. It’s not easy.
20. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Directions And then we have the non-driving directions, like walking. These are hard to calculate because most of the data out there is geared towards drivers, and few data sources specify walkable paths. Google Maps still hasn’t figured out my optimal commute, which goes through a underground subway path, a parking lot walkway, and a mall. We still need to find ways to source better walking data.
21. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Data To search for places and to calculate directions, we need a lot of underlying data, which we get from various data sources. But, the world is a massive place, and is constantly under construction, and there will always be inaccuracies in data. So, we needed to find a *scalable* way to get users to tell us when data was wrong. Instead of having each user painstakingly email us with each problem, we actually have them fix the problem themselves, on the map. Of course, we have to engineer moderation and anti-spam mechanisms, but we still get a lot better data feedback with an instant user feedback system.
22. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Data But, there are some issues with letting anyone edit the map, because there is the notion of an “owner” for business results. Should any old schmoe be allowed to edit the Casino’s location? Shouldn’t we only let the owner do it? Well, how do we know who the owner is? We usually send them a postcard with a code at their address. But what happens if the owner leaves, but never tells us that? What if he dies? (Or something less morbid but equally bewildering). These are all interesting issues we face.
23. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Real-time Data So far, all the data I’ve shown is data that we update once a year, once a month, etc. But there’s some data on our maps that’s real-time – constantly updated – the traffic layer. To have this layer, we needed to build systems that can take in data from traffic data providers all over the world in a consistent format, and turn that into visual layers for users, and do it all in a matter of minutes.
24. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Privacy So, as you’ve seen, we have *a lot* of data. Sometimes, the amount of data we have can be scary for users. For instance, our StreetView imagery lets you view buildings and streets before you visit them. But at the same time, it lets you view people on the street. So, to make users feel comfortable with this technology, we needed to build technology to detect faces and to blur them. It’s not easy – at the beginning, we were confusing quite a few horse butts with faces. But I’m not sure the horses minded.
25. Google Maps: The Hard Parts: Storage Tiles, Data, Images All the tiles and data add up to a lot of storage on our servers. Our tiles are basically an image pyramid, where each tile on a zoom level splits into 4 more on the next zoom level, and since we go up to 21 zoom levels in some places, that means a massive number of tiles (see the table above). Plus, we have 4 different map types, so it’s really 4 times a massive number. And then of course, there’s all the data for searching and directions. Google is one of the few companies that could possibly store this amount of data, as well as replicate it efficiently for serving users.
26. Google Maps: The Team Legal Business Engineering Product Management Marketing User Support As you can see, Google Maps is a fairly complex product. It requires a lot of people working together across multiple disciplines to collect data, discover data privacy laws, engineer systems, lead teams, and of course, get people to use the product, and support them when they do. But there’s one common theme across these roles: everyone loves solving problems, and fulfilling our mission.
27.
Editor's Notes
Google was founded 8.5 years ago by Larry page and Sergey Brin - 2 Stanford PhD students - in their dorm room. It evolved from an idea that search was important and that as the web grew people would need help finding relevant information quickly and easily A lot of people misunderstand Google however and think we’re only about search, or even just an online search engine. In fact our purpose and our size is much broader. With products that allow you to search your desktop, the internet, your private company databases and email amongst others; products like Blogger, Picassa, Video/You-tube, Docs and Spreadsheets and many more besides which allow you to communicate, share and collaborate content with others; tools and events such as Google code search, Google Summer of code, Google web APIs which aim to support and develop the software engineering community; and Google maps and local search to help you find businesses, driving directions, opening times… Google clearly allows you to do a lot more than just search for your nearest Pizza shop’s opening times on a week night! All of these products are part of our broader purpose of helping to organise the world’s information, to make it universally accessible and useful to all.
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Show icons like 7/11 Show stations
Example given only. Will amend as needed for each university visited.