Report: Apple Eyes Drones to Help Improve Maps

As many people know, Apple Maps was so bad when it launched in 2012 that Australian police called the service "potentially life threatening" after having to rescue several people who became stranded thanks to the flawed program. Fast forward to today, and the app has gotten better, but as we note in our official review, it "still suffers from map errors, making Google Maps the more reliable choice."

Word has it that Apple is hoping to change that with some new technology: drones. Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," on Thursday reported that Cupertino "is assembling a team of robotics and data-collection experts that will use drones to capture and update map information faster than its existing fleet of camera-and-sensor ladened minivans."

Apple apparently wants to fly drones around things like street signs and road construction, collecting data that its teams can use to quickly update the app.

The company earlier this year got the Federal Aviation Administration's permission to move ahead with its new drone data-collection plan in the US. Documents obtained by Bloomberg state that the FAA gave Apple the thumbs up to "operate an unmanned aircraft system to conduct data collection, photography, and videography." Apple in its application said it would use several different drones to collect the data, including ones made by DJI and Aibotix.

The tech giant will, however, have to abide by the FAA's new commercial drone rules, which prohibit flight over people who aren't participating in the data collection, or within 400 feet of a structure.

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Meanwhile, Bloomberg's sources also tipped new Apple Maps features like indoor maps (which Google Maps already offers) and improved car navigation. Those rumors come after Apple last year released, then quickly pulled, an app that enabled indoor positioning within a venue.