It seems that all the large companies want to contribute their grain of sand in the digitization of the planet Earth , and they all want to do it in 3D Next to Google , Apple and Nokia, is now Microsoft who is committed to creating 3D maps that faithfully represent the user's environment when he needs to search for an address or specific place through your tool Bing MapsOr that is what was revealed during the BUILD 2013 conference for developers that took place a few hours ago.
Thus, Microsoft confirms the fact of working to create this new volumetric representation of buildings and cities, although few data have been disclosed. It has only been possible to see a small demonstration of this function that will be included in Bing Maps and with which it is possible to zoom in on the buildings and Vary the perspective to understand the different angles, volumes, and depth of building façades. Something that allows a place to be faithfully represented so that the user who needs it can take a look in advance at the place he has to find or, simply, for the pleasure of visiting places without having to leave home.
It seems these three-dimensional maps would be brand new, without Microsoft has reused neither its previous maps nor satellite images. In fact, as commented in the specialized media TechCrunch, it would be Microsoft who would have developed its own cameras to be able to capture all these images and to be able to create this function of maps in three dimensions with complete freedom of developmentA service that will be included in Bing Maps in the same way as what is seen in the rest of the applications of the competition.
What is known is that all these maps will arrive, along with the application Bing Maps, in version Windows 8.1, despite the fact that it was not included in the preview version shown during the conference.In addition, according to what has been learned, Microsoft is also working on integrating the application Photosynth , a tool that allows users of mobile devices with Windows Phone and iPhone to take 360 degree photographs and share them This would increase the representativeness of places with photos that users made public of different places in the city.
For now it is not known what percentage of territory is captured and worked to be displayed in three dimensions , although rumors suggest that, for the moment, only 100 cities have this type of map. At least it is known that application developers for Windows 8.1 will have this content available to use and include in their tools.
The quality seen in Microsoft's 3D maps makes the wait worth it, and it's surprising the level of detail achieved However, it is true that it arrives late in this field compared to other platforms. It remains to be seen if he manages to catch up with the competition in time to also stand up as a map tool
