Apple has been on a mission to improve Maps since the numerous cartographic errors first seen in iOS 6. The mapping and navigation experience has improved since 2012, mostly from acquiring a number of companies to help forward its offering, specifically Topsy Labs, Spotsetter, WifiSLAM, and Toronto-based Locationary.
The latest acquisition by Apple is GPS company Coherent Navigation. The details of the transaction were not disclosed, but Apple confirmed the sale to the New York Times, stating, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
San Francisco-based Coherent Navigation was founded in 2008 by engineers who attended Stanford and Cornell. The LinkedIn page for Paul Lego, Coherent Navigation’s CEO and founder, revealed he joined Apple’s Maps team in January, followed by other co-founders William Bencze and Brett Ledvina in April.
One of the main features of Coherent is its High Integrity GPS (“iGPS”) technology, which apparently improves the accuracy of data from meters to centimeters by tapping into “signals from mid-earth orbit GPS satellites with low-earth satellites.”
There was no mention of how Apple will be incorporating Coherent Navigation tech into its business, nor if it will be used for Apple Maps.
[source] MacRumours, NYT [/source]
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