Why Drones could be the Future of Real-Time Mapping

For some, drones are nothing but a punch line—Amazon’s next attempt at replacing humans in their day-to-day operations, or a device that crashes at the drop of the hat. To others, they’re a sign of an uneasy future—a future they’re not comfortable with. Despite these misgivings, there are a lot of exciting uses for drones, and they’re earning a spot in our world. Mapping is something we all take for granted, but it takes a lot of work to keep those maps up-to-date and secure. It can be extremely frustrating when they’re not. The big players—Google and Apple—still use trucks to provide map data—but that might be changing in the future.

Bring in the Drones

Apple has had a hard time competing with Google’s dominance in the mapping space, but it may have found the answer: drones. The company has already gotten approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to move forward with the plan, though drone laws are always evolving, and may not fall in Apple’s favor. The drones may not be coming right away, but it’s an option that will help Apple compete with Google’s massively popular Maps application. The drones, in addition to the other features the company is building …

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