Google Maps News - Street View & Map Maker

Google Maps News - Street View & Map Maker

update:19/09/09
Mexico is now available for Map Maker - please see the official blog post
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/08/map-maker-goes-west.html

StreetView has been expanded again this now covers
Switzerland and Portugal and also Taipei City in Taiwan

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne with new Streetview coverage.

Google Maps Mania does a very good round-up of the coverage included
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/08/street-view-arrives-in-switzerland.html


Google Map Maker has been opened up some more with download-able vector data available for Africa [Terms of Use Apply]. This is either in KML format or Shapefile.

On the Mapmaker creation side Eastern Europe has now been opened up for editing.
This includes Albania, Belarus, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.
More news on this here
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/08/map-maker-gets-european-flair.html

This data can be obtained by accepting the terms of use at this link
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/mapmakerdatadownload/
This data can be used in a GIS or Google Earth Application.

Google Map Maker Directions - New!

Google Map Maker Directions - New!

Last week, Google switched on the MapMaker Tiles for API developers. See previous post (12th Feb '09).

MapMaker is based on user generated content.

"With Google Map Maker, you can become a citizen cartographer and help improve the quality of maps and local information in your region. You are invited to map the world with us!"

Now those tiles have graduated to Google Maps. 31 countries (of 160+) have made it so far - though this is likely to expand through the year and beyond.

The Full List is available
http://sites.google.com/site/mapmakeruserhelp/countries-on-google-maps

But wait there is more...

Driving Directions in MapMaker New!
(but use with caution)

Directions in a simpler form have been enabled, usually only the likes of TeleAtlas navigation is used on Google maps but now user contributed content is being used for the first time available in Map Maker Mode only at present [google login required].

Some of the countries do not have the simplified driving directions available.

Here is a working example
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl=en&ctype=0&saddr=Quetta&daddr=Zhob&dirflg=&gw=56&ll=30.192618,68.895264&spn=4.756322,7.426758&z=7
but don't expect this to be the shortest route.

Here is a better example
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl=en&ctype=0&saddr=Colombo&daddr=Mullaitvu&dirflg=&gw=56&ll=8.070086,80.330403&spn=2.724552,3.713379&z=8

Source:
http://sites.google.com/site/mapmakeruserhelp/using-directions

Google Map Maker Tiles come to the API

Google Map Maker Tiles come to the API

Update:
One of the best areas of difference is in Sri Lanka
Here is the differences in Colombo

Google Maps Normal Tiles limited in content.
This shows the power of user contributed content.

http://mapperz.googlepages.com/mapmaker_api_sri_lanka.html
(Warning this example is in the latest *experimental* version of the api v146b and GLog is always displayed)

Google Map Maker gives users the power to add, edit and amend data in Google Maps.
This has been running for awhile, but as yet it has not been used by Google in the Main Google Maps Site.

A first. The Google Maps API has had the option of (G_MAPMAKER_NORMAL_MAP);
for a while but this has not been enabled, until today.
Here is one Country in Google Maps with very little data coverage. Iceland.

But now with the API you can switch on the User Made Tiles from Google Map Maker.

Not much more detail , but it is better than the normal tiles from Google Maps.
Note:Copyright is Google only. (Coastline TeleAtlas still?)

There are a number of Countries and this is one example, so check the list and see if the country your are interested has more content than the original Google Map Tiles.

You can view the example here:
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/mapmaker_api_iceland.html


Mapperz would like to thank Mike Williams for the tip off .
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/4d44eed7fca98d35?hl=en#

Full list of Countries in Google Map Maker
* Algeria
* American Samoa
* Angola
* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Armenia
* Aruba
* Azerbaijan
* Bahamas
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Barbados
* Belize
* Benin
* Bermuda
* Bhutan
* Bolivia
* Botswana
* British Indian Ocean Territory
* British Virgin Islands
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
* Cambodia
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Cayman Islands
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Chile
* Christmas Island
* Cocos Islands
* Colombia
* Comoros
* Congo
* Cook Islands
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Cyprus
* Democratic Republic of Congo
* Djibouti
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Falkland Islands
* Faroe Islands
* Fiji
* French Guiana
* French Polynesia
* French Southern and Antarctic Lands
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Greenland
* Grenada
* Guadeloupe
* Guam
* Guatemala
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Heard Island and McDonald Islands
* Honduras
* Iceland
* India
* Iran
* Jamaica
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kenya
* Kiribati
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyztan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Maldives
* Mali
* Malta
* Marshall Islands
* Martinique
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Mayotte
* Micronesia
* Midway Islands
* Mongolia
* Montserrat
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Myanmar
* Namibia
* Nauru
* Nepal
* Netherlands Antilles
* New Caledonia
* Nicaragua
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Niue
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palau
* Panama
* Papua New Guinea
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Philippines
* Pitcairn Islands
* Qatar
* Reunion
* Rwanda
* Saint Helena
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Samoa
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Solomon Islands
* Somalia
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Sri Lanka
* Sudan
* Suriname
* Svalbard and Jan Mayen
* Swaziland
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Tanzania
* Timor-Leste
* Togo
* Tokelau
* Tonga
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Tunisia
* Turkmenistan
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* Tuvalu
* Uganda
* Uruguay
* Uzbekistan
* Vanuatu
* Venezuela
* Vietnam
* Wallis and Futuna
* Western Sahara
* Yemen
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

You can view the example here:
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/mapmaker_api_iceland.html

Google MapMaker Coverage Expands (but..)

Google MapMaker Coverage Expands

Google want 'users' to add content to areas that have poor or limited digital mapping coverage.

Please remember the content you generate will become Google's however they will not take responsiblity to any errors.

The concept is great - but OpenStreetMap have been doing this for years, there data is downloadable and very useable in GIS (Global Mapper reads it directly) as other mapping packages can.
Google seem to be stepping on OpenStreetMaps toes this time, with the new areas including, The Isle of Man where OSM have superior data.

So if you want to get your hands on the data for use afterwards your best bet is to help create data and pump it into OpenStreetMap. Now with 50,000 registered users and 5,000 active monthly users.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Beginners%27_Guide

Anyone noticed Georgia wasn't on the expanded list...?

See OpenStreetMap data in a mapping package directly...
http://mapperz.blogspot.com/2008/04/openstreetmap-data-in-globalmapper-fast.html

Google Map Maker

Google Map Maker


Google is now allowing certian areas in the world to be edited by the user


"Google Map Maker is a Google Maps service that allows you add or edit features, such as roads, businesses, parks, schools and more"


Google Map Maker displays in your web browser. The service appears similar to Google Maps, but displays a set of tools that allows you to mark locations and add information. These tools

New Tools allows you to edit content live - but requires a 'google' review before making it to google maps tiles.

Use the Placemark tool to mark a location such as a business or school.
Use the Line tool to mark roads, rivers, etc.
Use the Polygon tool to mark regions, such as a park or neighbourhood. You can enter similar information as with the Placemark tool, but the Polygon tool enables you to mark an entire area.


Scale Dependant for Editing Mode
You need to zoom to a range of 50m to 1km to be able to use Google Map Maker tools. If you use see these tools, try zooming in. To zoom in, use the zoom slider, mouse scroll wheel or right click > Zoom in. To center a point on the map, right click on the appropriate location and choose Center the map.

Metadata (information about the data)

Overview - Basic information about the feature. (name, address, etc.)
Attributes - Specific details about the feature. (road speed, driving direction, photo URL, etc.)
Description - Longer description and comments for reviewers. For example: Comment to moderator - This building has been torn down recently.
Events - Occurrences that pertain to the feature (such a concert that occurs in a park)
History - Record of past edits to the feature (changes made by other users)

Available Locations to be edited (Subject to change)

Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cyprus
Grenada
Iceland
Jamaica
Netherlands Antilles
Pakistan
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Vietnam


Note on Privacy
While you may mark your home on the map by adding the same as a point of interest, Google suggests that you do not reveal such private information in Google Map Maker.
Consider marking it as a Point of Interest

More on this visit
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2008/06/google-map-maker.html
http://www.google.com/mapmaker/mapfiles/s/support.html
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/06/making-your-mark-on-world.html#links

Mapperz