Welcome to the 3d GPS
Screen shot of 3d GPS in action
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have changed the way we travel. Once a rarity GPS has now become a standard piece of equipment in almost all cars. So what is next for GPS?
Leading companies such as Teleatlas (who make software for GPS brands such as MIO, TomTom and Pioneer) are investing heavily in a new generation of GPS systems which display 3 dimensional images of the buildings and landmarks that surround the user, helping them to pin point their position quickly and easily.
To create these three dimensional maps a is truck mounted with eight cameras around it's sides, and a further four on top, and is sent out trace all known routes, capturing 360 degree images as it goes. Images are collected at a rate of four per second. The process is very similar to that employed by Google when producing "Street View" for Google Earth.
New York, Los Angeles and Toronto have already been mapped. The next cities to come on line are Rome, Paris and Berlin.