Apple has confirmed that it will bring its Maps vehicle program to the streets of UK and Ireland. Google will photograph the streets in these two locations to improve the quality of Maps.
The first mapping expedition begins June 15 and will run until June 30. Apple is expected to add Street View-style data such as photos of storefronts and 3D imagery to Maps. The vehicles will be travelling London, Birmingham in the UK, and throughout Dublin and Cork in Ireland.
The news follows speculation in February that Apple was working on a rival to Google’s Street View and say that faces and licence plates will be blurred suggesting that Apple’s vehicles will be taking photographs rather than simply gathering road data – which leads credence to the fact that Apple are working on a rival to Google Street View.
“Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps. Some of this data will be published in future Apple Maps updates,†the site explains.
“We are committed to protecting your privacy while collecting this data. For example, we will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication.â€Â
Apple has launched a page listing driving locations for the cars in the UK and Ireland, initially covering the period of 9-30 June.
