真乄科技業的頂尖投資團隊

C3的技術是3D繪圖解決方案的領先供應商，照片般逼真的模型世界提供搜索，導航和地理信息 系統自2007年當它被剝離的航空航天和國防公司薩博AB，風險投資支持的C3已經重新定義以前的分類圖像處理技術應用於社會和商業的新應用平台的三維地圖的發展 映射。在瑞典的公司的自動化軟件和先進的算法使C3，以快速組裝極其精確的三維模型，並無縫集成與傳統的他們2D地圖，衛星影像，街道級攝影和用戶生成的圖像，這是永遠改變了人們如何使用地圖和探索世界 。

A 3D model of Las Vegas Strip created by Apple purchased C3

Since the original iPhone’s debut in 2007, Apple’s iOS devices have made use of an Apple-built Google Maps application to provide users with a quick glance at driving directions, traffic, route guidance, current location information, and details about destinations. Like with most sections of Apple’s business, the company is continually innovating, looking to take products to the next level.

A few years ago, Apple set out to seemingly reinvent this iOS mapping experience. As 9to5Mac reported in 2009, Apple scooped up their own mapping software development company called Placebase. In the summer of last year, Apple went one step further in their obvious pursuit of a completely in-house mapping solution and acquired a 3D mapping firm called Poly9.

Apple’s Poly9 purchase obviously means Apple is at least interested in (or considering) the field of three-dimensional mapping solutions. We’ve now confirmed that Apple has purchased a second 3D mapping company. In August of this year it was discovered that 3D mapping company C3 Technologies had been purchased and shut down by its buyer. While there was no true evidence for this, there was speculation that Apple could be one of a handful of companies that could be the buyers of C3 Technologies.

Sure enough, we have now learned Apple is now the owner of C3 Technologies. Sources say that C3 Technologies CEO Mattias Astrom, C3 Technologies CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead C3 Technologies Product Manager Ludvig Emgard are now working within Apple’s iOS division. The leading trio, along with most of the former C3 Technologies team, is still working as a team in Sweden (interestingly, the division is now called “Sputnik”), where the C3 Technologies company was located prior to the Apple acquisition.

C3的技術是如何工作的。

薩博，C3的技術部分的前老闆有一個視頻，解釋如何實際工作的技術：

iOS Maps in the third dimension.
Typically, when Apple purchases a company – which they do not do as nearly as often as competitors like Google – they have a clear goal in mind, and tend to take the best elements of their purchase and make it into their own creation. The latest example of this would be Apple’s purchase of Siri: Apple scooped up the company behind the popular iPhone application and pushed out the iPhone 4S with Siri voice technology a little over a year later. With this in mind, what will the future of Apple’s mapping services look like?

一個虛擬的三維外觀，由C3技術創建的胡佛水壩

A virtual, 3D look at the Hoover Dam created by C3 Technologies
We already know that Apple has its eyes set on reinventing their maps solution, and with Placebase being a part of the corporation, moving completely away from Google seems inevitable. Apple – with the speedy custom made chips (A4, A5) in the latest round of iOS devices – could make their mobile mapping solution the best in the world with C3 Technologies’ 3D mapping technology. C3′s solutions are so powerful and remarkble, and would truly transform Apple’s basic Google Maps application into something entirely new, fun, and powerful.

一飛通過以上奧斯陸，挪威創造由C3技術

一起把地圖的iOS的未來：

Based on Apple’s past moves in the maps arena, we have a fairly good idea of what to expect from Apple in the near future of iOS:

Rebranding: Although Apple and Google signed a deal to extend the use of Google Maps in iOS, Apple’s purchase of Placebase is a clear indicator that Apple is looking to split from Google’s backend control at some point in the near future. Placebase could potentially replace the entire Google backend, allowing Apple to completely market iOS Maps as an end-to-end solution from the Cupertino-based company.

3D: With Apple’s aquisitions of both C3 Technologies and Poly9, we think it is very likely that the future of iOS Maps will include a third-dimension.

Traffic: Apple has gone on the record to say that they are working on an improved traffic service for end-users.

Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.

The service is crowd-sourced and is another indicator of Apple moving away from Google in their iOS mapping services as Google currently supplies iOS Map’s traffic data.

We’re not expecting anything big in the immediate future but we’d be surprised to see the same old Maps program in iOS 6. Expect something much much bigger.

資料來源:9TO5MAC