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Apple Maps is used widely in the US and now the company is asking for your inputs to make the platform better for everyone.
Apple wants your help to make its Maps as good as Google’s
Apple has rolled out a new app called the Surveyor which is designed to allow users to contribute to Apple Maps by collecting real-world mapping data about their surroundings and sending it to the company. This move is aimed at enhancing the accuracy and detail of Apple Maps.
As per a report by MacRumors, the app focuses on gathering information such as street signs, traffic signals, and other roadside details to ensure Apple Maps remains precise and up to date. “Surveyor helps Apple improve Maps by collecting data, such as images of street signs and other roadside details, while on an assigned route,” the app description reads.
Despite being available for free on the App Store, it seems that the company has built it for very specific users. Unlike Apple’s standard consumer apps, Surveyor is not for everyone, and it is available for use with companies that the Cupertino-based tech giant partners with to assign mapping tasks. As of now, the Maps Surveyor app is only available in the United States.
Another important addition in this app is that it prompts the user directly to open a partner app to choose a task after installing it. Tapping on the option launches another app called Premise, a platform that allows people to earn rewards by completing simple tasks. Basically, it is described as a task marketplace that pays money to users for participating in surveys, sharing personal information like construction zones or grocery pricing, or taking photos of specific locations.
The reports says, code found in the Surveyor app suggests that Apple will use Premise to invite people to help improve Apple Maps in exchange for rewards. Once assigned a mapping task by the Premise app, users will be instructed to attach their iPhone to a mount, rotate the handset in landscape orientation and use the Surveyor app to capture images along a given route while driving.
According to the company, the images captured in the Surveyor app are items along the road infrastructure, like signs and traffic lights; location and data about physical features are sent to Apple to “precisely place objects on the map.”
It is also worth noting that Premise is not officially listed as an Apple Maps partner in Apple’s mapping data information, but the integration of the two apps indicates a collaboration for the purpose of keeping small details in Apple Maps up to date.