Apple drives vehicles to collect data to improve Maps

[June 10, 2015]  (Reuters) - Apple Inc said it was driving vehicles around the world to collect data that will be used to improve Apple Maps.

The company has given driving locations on its website for June 15-30 which include Ireland, England and several cites in the United States. (http://apple.co/1MnGAvc)

Apple said it would blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication to protect privacy.

The camera-equipped vehicles deployed by Apple will give its Maps app functions similar to Google Inc's Street View.

Street View, launched in 2007, gives users a panoramic imagery of public roads. The service automatically detects and blurs identifiable faces and vehicle number plates.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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