Uber is mapping Australia: Better ETAs and Accurate pickups

Look out Gold Coast, the Meter Maids are about to get captured by all new camera technology and it’s not creepy tourists with their smartphones, it’s Uber and their mapping cameras atop Uber drivers cars.

In an effort to get the most accurate maps possible, Uber is putting camera technology on top of a select number of cars on the Gold Coast to improve their overall map data for better user experiences.

Uber say “Accurate maps are at the core of our mission: to provide reliable transport to everyone, everywhere”, and the use of maps and GPS are critical to getting you the closest driver and getting you to your destination as quickly as possible.

The announcement was made on a blog post by Uber’s head of Mapping Manik Gupta.  Gupta was previously head of Google Maps so he knows his stuff when it comes to getting from A to B and the data required to make that happen.

This mapping effort by Uber will certainly add to the product experience, but will also allow Uber to be less reliant on Google Maps and in a small way prepare itself for the introduction of self-driving cars – those things, more than any other Uber driver, need maps, and bloody good ones.

Don’t worry, when a mapping car picks you up, no imagery is retained around your pickup or drop-off locations, and the mapping imagery will never be made public.