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Google's Cartographer Backpack For Indoor Mapping
Google introduces the Cartographer, a special backpack for indoor mapping. This joins the Trekker, which can be used to map outdoor locations.
(Google's Cartographer)
The Cartographer uses a process called “simultaneous localization and mapping” (SLAM), a technique that’s typically used for mapping new locations and that Google is now putting to use to map anything from hotels to museums.As the backpacker walks through a building, the floor plan is automatically generated in real time, Google says. The wearer also uses a tablet to add points of interest while walking around the building (say room numbers in a hotel or the exhibits in a museum).
This idea was used by beloved science fiction golden age writer Jack Williamson in his amazing 1936 novel The Cometeers; perhaps fans may remember the cartograph:
He reached to unsnap the cartograph from his belt. He had brought that tiny instrument to map their movements. He opened the cover and peered at the strip."We're nearly seven miles from where the prison used to be," he said thoughtfully.
Google now has six indoor maps available on their Google Maps site.
From Techcrunch.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/7/2014)
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'He reached to unsnap the cartograph from his belt.'- Jack Williamson, 1931.
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