Uber is already pretty good when it comes to drivers coming almost accurately on pick-up locations. And in a country like India, where roads and streets are hardly as planned as compared to the west, Uber performs reasonably well. The company however, is aiming to make those pick-us even more accurate.
As a result, Uber has tied up with satellite imagery firm DigitalGlobe, in a multi-year deal, wherein the latter will provide precise satellite imagery to the former, to make picking up even more accurate. DigitalGlobe’s official blog post on the matter, states,
Specifically Uber will leverage DigitalGlobe’s industry leading constellation of sensors to access imagery and location intelligence to help identify and improve pick-up and drop-off locations.
Surprisingly though, there has been no official announcement on Uber’s front. We’ve mailed the company for a comment.
DigitalGlobe — for those of you who haven’t heard of the company much — is a provider of high-quality, satellite imagery of earth to various companies. The company does this with the help of a massive commercial satellite constellation, that it operates in the outer space. The company also provides comprehensive data and actionable analytics along with the imagery.
The partnership could well be motivated by Uber’s ever-increasing presence in China and India. Roads in the world’s two most populous countries are largely congested with regular traffic changes happening. And because DigitalGlobe’s refresh rate of its maps is much more frequent as compared to other services, this could help the app-based cab hailing upstart to better predict traffic patterns, road changes and hence make picking-up of riders, even more accurate.
Uber did not immediately respond to an e-mailed query. We’ll keep you posted.
