Sweden’s Mapillary wants to crowd-source a better Google Street View | GeekTime

"Google Street View is not just about roads and streets; there are tons of other curious snapshots, including a reported ‘ghost child’ in an abandoned orphanage in Liverpool, or two suburban samurais. Although Google has undeniably (and literally) covered a lot of ground with its mapping technology, there are still plenty of places—in Greenland, China, Russia and Africa, for example–it hasn’t yet touched down in. Even in hugely populated areas, there are still walking trails or pathways under bridges that are missing. Here’s where Sweden and US-based startup Mapillary wants to fill in the gap. Founded in September 2013, Mapillary is a service aiming to provide a more comprehensive street view map of the world by crowdsourcing images from users. Instead of waiting for big companies or institutions to pass through neighbourhoods with their mapping vehicles, Mapillary allows individuals to contribute photos with simple tools like their smartphones and cameras to help map places that may not be so well-trodden, such as bike trails or paths in the forest.  In January 2015, the startup announced a $1.5 million seed round led by well-known American investor Sequoia Capital. We spoke to Mapillary CEO Jan Erik Solem recently on where the idea came from, why we need another street-level map and what’s next for the company ..."