apple’s map makers get marching orders - sensor laser

With satellites and lasers, technology has changed our perception of the environment around us.
The fully loaded cars provide us with digital maps and "streets-
View photos from Sheffield to Seoul.
However, even inside the city, there is still a big gap in maps on smartphones.
Now, in order to make them more sophisticated, technology companies are returning to the tools relied on by Victorian cartoonists: Boots leather and sweat.
Apple says its map team will travel on sidewalks carrying heavy backpacks to collect data on pedestrian routes in cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Like a modified car that Apple and Google collect data for the company's map app, the backpack has LIDAR laser sensors, GPS and several cameras that can shoot 360-degree images.