Location-based services going places

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The Tele Atlas van has been roaming around Singapore mapping the island, according to a guide at the booth. Its next stop is Malaysia.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
A total of four cameras sit atop the van--two facing forward, with two at 45 degrees to capture peripheral images.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
A view of the "brains" of the van. It contains 250 gigabytes of hardware and video processing software.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
Each van has an odometer on the rear wheel to measure distance traveled, accurate to an inch.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
The mapping software rendering a building in 3D.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
The cockpit of the car. According to Tele Atlas, the van is able to collect data while traveling at normal speeds--faster than traditional survey cars--so that more ground is able to be covered in a day.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho
A map to the left and "street view" to the right, with 3D buildings superimposed to show depth.
Credit: Victoria Ho

Published: June 18, 2008 -- 11:57 GMT (04:57 PDT)
Caption by: Victoria Ho