Why don't people get lost again

Absrtact: Jones was the chief technical expert at Google Maps, the earth and the local search business unit. In the past few years, maps are evolving from static, patterned images into dynamic interactive tools, according to the Thursday edition of the Atlantic Monthly network. Google's chief

Jones was the chief technical expert at Google Maps, the earth and the local search business unit.

In the past few years, maps are evolving from static, patterned images into dynamic interactive tools, according to the Thursday edition of the Atlantic Monthly network. Michael Jones, Google's chief technology advocate, recently received an interview about the future of Google Maps and why people are not lost Jones.

The following is the full text of the interview:

Q: The concept of "map" is quite different from what it was 10 years ago. Maps have been printed on books or on walls and are now installed on your smartphone. What is the most important change? What changes will we see in the future?

Jones: The main change in the map over the past 10 years, compared to the previous 10,000 years of 6000, is that maps are becoming more personalized.

The map itself has not changed. As you can see, the 1940 map doesn't look much different from the current Google Maps. But the old map is usually just a piece of paper, the same for all users. New maps are different for different users. You can drag the map to the location you want to reach; you can zoom in, you can switch patterns, show traffic or satellite views, and you can look at the bird's-eye view and even ask questions about hotels and routes. As a result, maps have evolved from static, patterned Earth images into dynamic interactive sessions on Earth's uses.

I think this is the biggest change from the official perspective. This change has taken place.

Q: So what will happen in the future?

Jones: User and map conversations are becoming more personalized. As you can imagine, in the future, if you have a wearable computer, the conversation will be more intuitive. You will see continuous flow of information, and others may not even know what advice you have received.

For example, people will navigate through their mobile phones when they go out. In the future, mobile phones can prompt you with voice, or display information through glasses, directing you to turn left or straight. Wherever you are, you can be as familiar with the road as the locals. You will know every alley in Beijing, even if you have never been there before. The Signpost will be automatically translated.

This smart service will be available to users. In fact, People's IQ has been raised by 20 points because of Google's search and maps. They don't think it's Google's credit, they think they're smarter because they can rely on tools. This is why users will be disappointed once the tool becomes inaccurate or crashes. People will feel that 1/5 of the brain is out of effect.

Q: How is this different from the voice cues in car navigation?

Jones: More powerful. Google's geographic service team starts with two seeds, the predecessor of Google Earth, Keyhole, and the two brothers who developed Google Maps service. We have invented the most complex, authoritative and practical map solutions that human beings can develop, and I think we have been successful. I see this as an English dictionary, or a more powerful encyclopedia. This is a wide range of reference tools for many people to use.

If you look at English dictionaries from the perspective of English literature, then this is a dictionary. But with the printed text on paper, you can also write reasoning novels, comedy novels or adventure novels. You can do a lot of things by using the words in the dictionary.

We believe that a new literature is being born from a dictionary of maps. We have launched an Android app called Field Trip. After downloading this app, it will say to you: "I don't want to disturb you all the time, so how often do I talk to you?" You can tell it, "Forever" or "little", then you can turn off the app, put the phone in your pocket, and don't need to think about it.

When you go out and come to some important location, the phone will vibrate and tell the information, for example, "the left front of a block is a 500-mile-wide Greek restaurant rating 1th," or "your favorite movie at the corner of the theater behind you." Applications use your location and search in the "points of interest" database, so you can understand what you care about. This means that no matter where you are, you will have a local expert who understands your taste and makes your life easier.

We have seen this transformation of mobile maps. Possible worries during travel, such as what to do if you get lost, and what I don't say about local languages, no longer exist. As long as you have a mobile phone with Google Maps on it, you can go anywhere in the world and be safe and easy to reach wherever you want, depending on the navigation information. Everyone will never get lost again.

Q: You often travel around the world, preaching the role of maps to local governments and citizens. What aspects of this technology have surprised you and your colleagues?

Jones: For me, as an engineer, different governments understand the concept of "political truth" (political truth) differently. For example, our map shows a dispute over whether a water body is called "Persian Gulf" or "Arabian Gulf". On the boundary line, if we get the recognition of neighboring countries, we will use the yellow boundary line. If there is a dispute, we use the red border.

To my surprise, people's interest in geography is not very strong. At present, many schools do not attach importance to the subject of geography. A survey showed that 1/5 of American schoolchildren could not find the Pacific on the map.

We think this is a problem that needs to be addressed. We want to make people feel that understanding the Earth is an interesting thing, not a dull one. So we did a lot of things.

To our surprise, so many people share their joys with us, and now 1 billion people have installed Google Earth on their computers.

When people complain about Google Maps and Google Earth, they ask: "Why does my backyard become blurred", "Why is that tree still there?" People are now very concerned about this tiny deficiency. and 8 years ago, few people thought it was possible.

Q: In the past 10 years, there has been a great change in map services, and what are the hardest parts from a technical point of view? What changes are most incredible, from the perspective of your insiders, rather than through smartphones or computers?

Jones: In terms of technology, there are many upgrades to our map services, and users may not be aware of the differences. For example, at Google, we invented an interactive online map concept, that is, dragging on the screen. Mapques's approach is to adjust the direction by clicking the button. And our idea is smooth movement.

Browsing the earth in the form of satellite imagery is usually a secret espionage agency or military personnel like to do things, but if everyone does--it's a positive change to see where the hotel is, where the shipwreck is, to see if a house is close to the park or church, and so on-to present the whole planet to everyone. The application of this technology is also attributable to a political achievement. At that time, President Clinton signed a bill authorizing satellite commerce.

Again, smartphones, smart phones are intelligent, largely because of their position sense. This sense of location can answer a lot of questions, such as where the nearest hotel is, where you can get a taxi, and even how much traffic is nearby.

There's no need to tell them where you are, because they know where you are. In terms of location, they are smart, relying mainly on GPS systems and the known addresses of WiFi devices across the globe. These technologies have brought many changes to our map services, but integrating them together is not an easy task.

Q: It is often said that the first picture of the entire Earth taken from space has led to a variety of environmental awareness. Do you think the current improvements in map technology will have the same effect?

Jones: My father is more than 80 years old and he wants to know something about my job. Recently, I showed him the Google Undersea Street View. We dived into the sea, walked and stopped, and looked at the turtles and the sea fish. We stopped on a big reef and saw a submarine tunnel with lots of fish resting there.

After a while my father said, "Boy, it's so beautiful, it's unbelievable." "I said:" Is that we chose the most beautiful place, because most of the coral near the world's islands have died, fish is the same. ”

He almost cried and looked at me and said, "How could the world be like this?" We chatted for a long time, and he realized that this was caused by ocean acidification. Although he has never really been to the sea, but can get the same feelings as the people who have been to the sea.

I believe that this experience can motivate people to take action to protect our planet, whether active or passive.

Jones biography:

Jones is Google's "chief technology advocate" (figuratively Marvell Advocate), responsible for the development of information organization technology and the promotion of such technology in the global application. Jones often travels around the world, meeting with government and business people, as well as Google's partners and clients, to achieve Google's mission and drive technological development. Jones was the chief technical expert at Google Maps, the earth and the local search business unit. Prior to that, he was Keyhole's chief technology officer, and Keyhole's technology has now been applied to Google Earth. He was also CEO of Intrinsic Graphics Corporation.