Google Maps Adds 25M New Building Footprints

Google has added another layer of detail to its maps for desktop and mobile. Now, besides, streets, parks, and bodies of water, users can also see even more building footprints in major cities across the U.S. The Web giant debuted this new addition yesterday by adding 25 million new building footprints to its map platform. Cities include Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

All of the building images also come with height information, which was created by aerial imagery combined with computer vision techniques in order to produce the building shapes. Google has received a fair amount of acclaim recently for its maps platform. When Apple opted to boot Google Maps from its iOS 6, many users got up in arms and complained that Apple Maps didn't compare to Google's. Google has since amped up its mobile Web app but has not said if it will create a specific maps app for iOS.