Google are building various tools which allow users to contribute data (especially to maps). However they don't provide an easy way for users to choose to release their own contributions under an open license. I asked Marissa Mayer this question at SXSW 2011 and she said they would change it, however I haven't seen this happen. I would very much like to see Google change their policy so that by default any user generated contributions are released under a license which permits reuse without further permission from Google.<p>My question is at 28:30
<a href="http://audio.sxsw.com/2011/podcasts/GoogleMarrisaMayer.mp3" rel="nofollow">http://audio.sxsw.com/2011/podcasts/GoogleMarrisaMayer.mp3</a>
In the US, "Blueprints" etc. are protected by copyright and the vast majority are provided to building owners under very restricted usage rights which do not anticipate such use.<p>The suggestion that people just upload them is somewhat problematic in so far as it is akin to Napster's approach to music a decade ago.
How long until someone uses these to make first person shooter game maps automatically? (Using Google Maps outdoor mapping data for games is a great idea, like the tower defense game from a couple days ago).
I submitted four floors worth of plans for a building on our campus probably close to two months ago; they are still "pending review"<p>There is no way to get feedback about the process and no indication on where in the queue our submissions are.<p>There are probably 40 buildings on our campus that I was going to submit floor plans for. However, I was using this first building as a guinea pig of sorts. I can't imagine spending the time to get the other 39, multi-floor, buildings aligned in their system if there is little likelihood they will ever end up in the system for public consumption.
Taking bets on the odds of this being disallowed for places where it would be actually useful (for example: airports; municipal buildings; skyscrapers).
The view to align the map is very non-intuitive. It would be simply easier to just pick where the map should overlay first and then fine tune the alignment.
Ok.....now I see the Google Glasses coming together, and that video doesn't seem as fanciful 'pie-in-the-sky' as I initially thought.<p>If Google is able to bring it all together, this could be pretty epic!
If anyone's curious about an example, Mall of America is one of the locations mapped with this feature, here's the Google blog post: <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-google-maps-mapping.html" rel="nofollow">http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-goog...</a><p>It's a pretty interesting development for me to watch as the app I'm currently working on named Mashupforge (<a href="http://mashupforge.com" rel="nofollow">http://mashupforge.com</a>) lets people easily create interactive maps out of image floorplans.
Does anyone have a link to a building with floor plans already uploaded? I'd be curious to see how they've designed the interface but can't easily find one... (i.e., in 2 minutes in downtown SF)
$1,000 says this will be featured in a heist movie in the next year. This is exactly the kind of tech I used to scoff at when the uber-skilled hacker pulls up a 3D map of the target building.
What's preventing people from uploading incorrect floor plans? Plus, with no standard floor plan format, I don't see how this is useful, beyond showing another helpful picture of a location.
See:<p><a href="http://floorplanner.com" rel="nofollow">http://floorplanner.com</a><p>They are a startup from my town (Rotterdam) and have been doing online floorplans longer then anyone else.
This nicely correlated to their Project Glass demo where the guy asks for directions 'inside' the book store. To turn that into a reality, Google will certainly have to crowdsource this info.
They are directly targeting the market that Point Inside is in. I'm curious why they did not just purchase them rather than building something that will need to gain traction?
Most large retail outlets will probably opt out of this initiative. A big part of their revenue model hinges on the "impulse buying" which occurs as you wander throughout the store looking for your items. There is a reason why no major department or grocery chain (that I am aware of) has a store directory at the front like most malls do.<p>However, if crowdsourcing is allowed this could become major. I and 20 other people could all map out the Walmart (for example), upload the data, and then whatever matches in 80% of the submissions would become part of the "map".<p>If enough people did that it would almost force the major chains to participate, if for no other reason than to maintain control of their maps.