How Mapping Technology Will Disrupt Several Industries ? The mapping technology will impact travel, retail, real estate, autonomous transport, gaming, and many more industries in coming years.

In the time of digital maps, getting lost in a new place is impossible. Whether you are driving or walking these handy mobile tools will guide you along the fastest route. In the mapping industry, there are a number of players that are giving tough competition to Google and Apple Maps. The industry has come a long way with many apps focusing on new features, but the technology needs to evolve to meet changing needs.

BIZ Experiences India lists out several industries that will benefit from mapping technology in coming years:

Integrating Technology Into Devices

Blippar CEO Ambarish Mitra feels the mapping technology will impact travel, retail, real estate, autonomous transport, gaming, and many more industries in coming years.

"The technology could also be integrated into other devices beyond smartphones, such as wearables. Inside next five year, we should see smartglasses become more prevalent in everyday life, allowing this type of technology to be integrated into those," he said.

Mitra plans to constantly evolve the mapping experience in the world through his "AR City' app. He believes the app will provide a more seamless and immersive way to travel, explore cities and navigate.

Moving HD Maps Forward:

Rakesh Verma, Managing Director, MapmyIndia, emphasized that entire spectrum of industries whether it is transportation, automotive, public transport and smart cities will get more impacted by the mapping technology.

"The mapping technology has moved from print to digital maps. We are moving to high definition maps which will take it to submeter accuracy. The more accurate it is, the more useful it will be for autonomous driving. The next five years will see a change in terms of maps. High definition maps will come into play as a result of the lighter technologies available to make that happen," Verma said adding that transportation and analytics is heavily dependent on maps because it helps in analyzing different issues

Transportation And Other IoT Devices

The transport sector is heavily dependent on maps to get a sense of place. According to Aditya Vuchi, CEO, Zippr, apart from the obvious benefits of navigation, the mapping will be extremely valuable in two areas.

"One is transportation with autonomous vehicles, drones, and other IoT devices that need a comprehensive and accurate 3D mapping layer coupled with a real-time feedback mechanism to power machine-to-machine interactions. The other is being able to use mapping technology for pushing products and services to the hinterlands of India. This will be done through a combination of private enterprises and government programs where geo-analytics and self-reported data will allow precise delivery by identifying the right beneficiaries, right services, and necessary products," he explained.

While the benefits of mapping technology are immense, data privacy will be huge challenge for companies. Vuchi added that companies in this space will need to have measures in place to handle data judiciously, probably giving citizens the ability to create, own and control the data breadcrumbs.