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Ask HN: What are the data-sources for Google Maps ?

2 points by l0nwlf ↗ HN
What are the sources of excellent geo-location data possessed by Google Maps ? I am wondering that, even with large amount of volunteer work involved, why is OSM data not comparable to theirs in terms of quality ?

3 comments

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da_coke_chef
what is your metric for quality?
l0nwlf
1 > Wide Coverage.

2 > Accuracy.

ZeroGravitas
They used to buy it all in, but seem to be sourcing more and more internally and algorithmically derived from public sources. This is good because it gives them more control and licencing flexibility, but has led to a (temporary?) decline in quality and some very odd errors e.g. fictitious villages based on typos and roads in the UK having french names.

I wouldn't judge OSM by US data by the way. Each country has different levels, partly based on what their Governments have released and what the community is like. Which is partly true of Google as they rely on volunteers to contribute in some nations.