Concerns Regarding Road Mapping Accuracy on Google Maps

[ErmesT]

Hi @abhirammanoj

@abhirammanoj

I am concerned about the accuracy of newly added roads on Google Maps

How do you know that the roads you are talking about are newly added?
I mean, with the new editor it’s almost impossible to have that kind of submission approved, and with the last changes on the moderation system most probably even clear visible roads will be rejected, as @Port knows very well.

@abhirammanoj

even drawn over buildings instead of the nearby roads they represent

Can you share some examples and links? This type of problem is typically caused by two reasons:

• The roads are very old, in areas where new buildings or residential areas have been built without updating the roads. This is a very common problem in many parts of the world.
• The roads were acquired long ago directly from Google, which launched some tests for this very purpose years ago. In this case, the roads could be misplaced by several meters, due to the lower GPS signal resolution when the roads were acquired. This is also a very common problem.

@ErmesT

How does Google Maps acquire and update roads?

It does this through a combination of different elements:

• Existing maps. The official maps of various countries are a fundamental source of information.
• User contributions. Users can add, and in some cases edit, roads. They can do this from both mobile phones and desktop computers. Google verifies the imagery using algorithms that compare the proposed roads with aerial and satellite imagery.
• Contributions from public entities, which can create partnerships with Google Maps to provide their updated cartography through the Maps Content Partners program.

Additionally in India many roads are acquired through Road Mapper. I myself have added over 1650 km of roads in your country with this method.

Since Road Mapper allows the creation of roads that are not connected to other roads, this could later lead to confusion when it comes to connecting them via the Maps editor.