Digital Mapping Companies Strive to Remain Current

To make certain that navigation systems used in all sorts of modern gadgets deliver on their promise, digital mapping companies are working endlessly to keep abreast of the changes to the urban landscape.

"A G.P.S. unit is of little help in guiding you to a chosen destination when the route it calculates is outdated, if it instructs you to take an exit that has been closed or if it tells you to turn onto a road that has been converted into a pedestrian mall."

To manage the job, companies operate teams of field analysts in offices around the world to continuously chart the ever-changing street grids of cities -- checking where new condo developments go up, street names change, and two-way avenues are changed to one-way thoroughfares.

Thanks to Linda LaSut