Map Shack

It's great to be back with Season 2, and to kick us off, we've recorded our first Partner Spotlight with Perth-based Google Maps Premier Partner, Liveli. Liveli's General Manager, Oliver Looker, discusses how our partnership came about, the impacts of COVID-19 in Australia, how digital maps are shaking up the tourism industry, and more.

We’re rounding off this memorable year with a dip back into what Google Maps has offered in terms of new features and updates in 2020. Jesper joins me once again as we talk about some features that perhaps have been fuelled by the global pandemic, as well as focussing a bit more on Google’s new APIs that have enabled what Jesper describes as the “plug and play” era, including Ride Sharing and Cloud Styling capabilities, among others.

Nearly a year on and COVID-19 is still grabbing the headlines. But what effect is the pandemic having on what was a growing smart office culture? With many employees still working remotely around the world and big names like Facebook, Twitter, and Google leading the way in terms of working from home, what does the future hold for these huge spaces and no-one to fill them?I’m joined by MapsPeople Corporate Offices Industry Manager Stevie Grossman and Sales Engineer Kristy McDougal for an open chat about how the smart office can retain its relevance during corona times, and beyond.

If you're a MapShack regular, you've maybe already heard our episodes on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Deep Learning continues this adventure into the world of neural network sub-sets. I'm joined for episode 15 by Jacob Hjerrild, our Deep Learning Engineer here at MapsPeople, to delve a bit further into the world of AI and Machine Learning - specifically with Deep Learning in mind.

Forming business partnerships that enhance our ethos and allow us to strengthen our audience reach is something we’re extremely proud of here at MapsPeople. In Map Shack episode 14, Scott is joined by Christian Frederiksen, Head of Strategic Partners for EMEA and ASIA here at MapsPeople. Christian explains how various partners are increasing our visibility in different verticals, touching on some really cool use cases from around the world, and also the process of choosing the right partnerships.

A Content Management System (CMS) is an application that is used to manage creation and modification of digital content. It needs to be user-friendly, intuitive, and constantly evolving to meet user expectations. In Map Shack episode 13, Scott talks to our US-based Software Engineer, Kristy McDougal, to lift the lid on the MapsIndoors CMS. Kristy has established herself as an essential part of the sales support team and, as you'll hear, her energy is infectious. We chat about the main features and new features in the MapsIndoors CMS, and touch on what you might expect to see in future.

Map Shack proudly introduces its first double-bill! Through the LinkedIn group GIS, Mapping and Geo Technology Professionals, we reached out to one of the most active bloggers in the GIS community, Matt Sheehan. Matt combines his wealth of experience and keen interest in the ever evolving innovations within the space to approach problem solving from a business value perspective. We chat about, among other things, visualizing data, how important start-ups are, getting the attention of the commercial sector, and the current challenges in the geospatial world.

Map Shack proudly introduces its first double-bill! Through the LinkedIn group GIS, Mapping and Geo Technology Professionals, we reached out to one of the most active bloggers in the GIS community, Matt Sheehan. Matt combines his wealth of experience and keen interest in the ever evolving innovations within the space to approach problem solving from a business value perspective. We chat about, among other things, visualizing data, how important start-ups are, getting the attention of the commercial sector, and the current challenges in the geospatial world.

In Map Shack episode 10, we welcome back our Google Maps Platform Sales Manager, Jesper Holdensen for a review on what’s been going on in the app since our last chat, six months earlier. Of course, COVID-19 has been at the forefront during the past weeks and months, and rightly so. So while we’ve compiled a list of all the Google Maps updates which Jesper expertly guides you through, we’ve also tried to give you some lighter insights into how Google Maps can be used for leisure. Listen all the way to the end for instructions on how to enter our pop-up challenge!

Back in October 2019, I reported on the exciting Polaris Robot collaboration project – a service robot platform helping the general public and employees navigate in large venues. Six months on, all the elements came together for the two-year demonstration at Combine’s HQ in Aalborg, Denmark, and I was lucky enough to get an invite. So I packed my mic’s and went to find out if Combines Senior UX-designer, Jakob Skovgaard and MapsPeople's Solution Architect, Daniel Nielsen could give us an update on how the project is progressing and also if the demo was considered a success.

Augmented Reality (AR) can add value, solve problems, and enhance user experience in nearly every industry. Businesses are increasing investments to drive the growth of AR, which makes it a crucial part of the tech economy. At MapsPeople, we’re keeping a close eye on developments in the field of AR and working with multiple partners to explore its indoor mapping possibilities.For this MapShack outing I chat with Senior Software Developer at MapsPeople, Michael Hansen, about the journey AR has been on over the past decade or so, and where it could be heading in the future.

Design, psychology, and anthropology maybe don’t spring to mind when thinking about maps. However, spatial design is an emerging holistic field that brings together these and other architectural and design concepts - and maps form the core on which spatial design works. In Maps Shack episode 7, Miriam Sode sheds some light on how maps can help organize and make sense of spatial and social information.

As 2019 draws to a close, we sit down with MapsPeople Google Maps Platform Sales Manager, Jesper Holdensen, and take a look at some of the most consumer-friendly updates of the year in terms of commuting, user experience, and lifestyle. Jesper picks out different use cases for our favorites.

Did you know that the oldest map of the world fits in the palm of your hand? The Babylonian Map of the World is the oldest map we know of and it’s believed to be from around 600 BC. Since then, mankind has been working on mapping the world, but three millennia later we still haven’t finished the job. In a career spanning almost 40 years, MapsPeople CEO and Founder, Michael Gram has spent the last 20 of these at the forefront of making the switch from printed maps to maps as a service.

In today’s world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is frequently misunderstood. This could largely be due to the significant leaps AI technology is experiencing and the powerful misconceptions surrounding it. In this episode, Jakob Kirkegaard explains his role as a computer vision specialist using AI as a problem solving tool rather than an actual comparison to human intelligence, while MapsPeople CIO, Rasmus Andersen offers his expertise and knowledge from an indoor mapping perspective. We cover the importance of human annotated data, image analysis, open source tools, and the potential of deep learning algorithms.

In our latest episode, The Good Company owner, Uffe Koch, speaks to Map Shack about his involvement in the exciting Polaris Robot project (a collaboration between The Good Company, Combine, MapsPeople, Aalborg University and the Technological Institute to develop a service robot platform which will enable the general public and employees in large venues to get a helping hand from self-propelled robots) and his passion for empowering app developers.

Our Solutions Designer here at MapsPeople, Matti Jensen gets technical and explains what's going on in the world of Indoor Positioning Systems. Matti reveals some of the newest trends and looks at just how far the positioning industry has come in the last few years.

Scott chats to MapsPeople Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Partner, Jonas Berntsen, about relocating and adjusting to life in Austin, Texas. Jonas shares some of the differences between running a business in the US compared to Denmark and offers advice to companies thinking of relocating.