Google Maps improves Hong Kong maps

New initiative produces improved city maps.

Google’s “Ground Truth Project” to improve the reliability of Google Maps in Hong Kong and elsewhere through a mixture of algorithms and good old human intervention is paying-off.

The Ground Truth initiative adds a factor of human labor in ensuring the accuracy of Google Maps data. It allows users to report a factual issue that they find on a local map.

When there is a conflict between data that has been acquired by Google through various automated sources and data reported by anonymous users, Google will employ a specially trained Ground Truth operator to verify it by analyzing data gathered from Street View.

Through this new system, Google was able to build better maps of Hong Kong. Google was able to add walkways to Hong Kong’s famous Victoria Park, as well as harbors and even ferry routes in Hong Kong’s Central and Western Districts.