Case Studies
Learn how map makers, cities, agencies, and NGOs use Mapillary imagery and map data.
Maps, navigation and routing
Supplement satellite imagery with views from the ground
OpenStreetMap
Use case
OpenStreetMap
Mapillary imagery and data are available for enhancing OpenStreetMap via both JOSM and iD editor, the main tools for editing the map. The community uses Mapillary imagery as ground-level reference for adding attributes related to roads, buildings, amenities, parks, traffic signs, and much more.
Connect communities to collaborate on better maps
HERE
Use case
Community mapping
HERE partners with Mapillary to support community mapping efforts to improve HERE maps. Mapillary imagery is available in the Map Creator editing tool for making improvements to HERE maps. Millions of people using apps powered by HERE maps thus have access to richer, fresher location data.
Use street-level imagery and data in professional GIS work
Esri
Use case
GIS management
Mapillary integrations across the ArcGIS suite bring street-level imagery to Esri maps. As the leading GIS software provider, Esri products are used by GIS professionals across industries, from government and commercial sectors to conservation and disaster reponse.
Outsource rapid imagery collection
Kaart
Use case
Map updates
Equipment
Mapillary Marketplace
To serve a big customer in the logistics sector with fast map updates, Kaart requested imagery capture in Melbourne, Australia, through the Mapillary Marketplace. While a local network of qualified drivers was working on imagery capture, Kaart had access to fresh imagery continuously and was able to focus on making map updates in OpenStreetMap, using street-level imagery as a reference to add information about turn restrictions, street names, and speed limits.
Optimize fleet operations using imagery captured by the fleet
A&B Courier
Use case
Logistics operations
Equipment
Mapillary Dashcams on fleet vehicles
A&B Courier equipped their fleet with Mapillary Dashcams to collect street-level imagery from the fleet's routes. The delivery company uses the imagery as reference to give more detail when reporting map issues to their map provider. The map provider, in turn, uses the imagery when updating the map, so that it reflects real-life conditions and provides accurate routing data for planning the fleet's operations.
Visualize navigation and route planning
OsmAnd
Use case
Route planning
The Mapillary plugin in the OsmAnd app enables street-level views for routing and navigation. App users can easily check out the surroundings at any place of interest or along the route they have planned with OsmAnd. Where imagery is missing, contributors can add it themselves to help others navigate better.
Validate and update traffic data with fresh visuals
MapBox
Use case
Navigation
The OpenStreetMap Navigation map, developed by MapBox, is a web application which uses Mapillary vector layer to highlight the traffic signs detected in Mapillary images. The detections are used to add, verify, and edit turn restrictions on OpenStreetMap.
Infrastructure, transportation, and smart cities
Update photologs with low cost and quick turnaround
Connecticut Department of Transportation
Use case
Transportation
Equipment
Android phones and Garmin Virb 360
Connecticut DOT has been using photologs to get a visual reference of places, for example when doing road safety works and asset inventories. The need to have a low-cost method for updating imagery and see it quickly after capturing brought them to Mapillary where they can host all their photologs for free and update them as often as needed, with imagery and data available already within a day. In addition, it is now easy for the DOT to share the imagery with the partners such as universities and regional planning organizations that they work with on collaborative projects.
Improve workflows by documenting before and after
District of Columbia Department of Public Works
Use case
Public works
Equipment
Android phones and Mapillary dashcams
The District of Columbia Department of Public Works uses Mapillary to monitor and optimize the process of leaf clean-up from the streets of Washington, D.C. Collecting imagery of the leaf cleaning crew's activity before and after cleanup sessions, they're able to document the progress and use it as input for improving their leaf-collection strategies. The imagery is available both on the Mapillary platform as well as in the city's ArcGIS tools in a convenient before-and-after comparison feature to make the leaf-cleaning process more transparent to everyone, including public works employees, the city's management, and residents.
Do a full traffic sign inventory with limited resources
City of Clovis, NM
Use case
Asset inventory
Equipment
Rig of GoPro action cameras
The City of Clovis has been using Mapillary to do their first-ever traffic sign inventory. With only one employee in the GIS department, who also has many other projects to take care of, it was challenging to find the budget and time resource to conduct the inventory. Mapillary enabled their GIS expert to collect street-level imagery himself and use the automatically extracted traffic sign features as a base for the inventory, slashing the required budget and time.
Share data for effective asset management
City of Detroit, MI
Use case
Public works
Equipment
Trimble MX2
The City of Detroit uses Mapillary to get a good overview of street and road assets in the fast-changing city. Using a high-resolution 360-degree camera, their GIS team collected 1.5 million images that are shared between the city's 30+ departments and also available publicly to everyone through the Mapillary platform. Using Mapillary's automatic feature extraction, city officials can speed up asset management tasks and proactively improve the residents' lives through everything from safety to insurance rates to snowplowing.
Reduce costly field visits with right-of-way imagery
Märker Geospatial
Use case
Roadway management
Equipment
Any, from phones to professional
Märker Geospatial provides roadway management services across the US. Their projects often include collecting right-of-way photologs which help save their customers' time and money by reducing the need for costly field visits during inventories and inspections. Märker Geospatial captures imagery with phones, action cameras, 360° cameras, or professional rigs, depending on each customer's needs. Mapillary enables them to collect and process images from these different sources, providing visual reference as well as automatic data extraction from the imagery.
Save time on asset inventory with automated data extraction
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, CA
Use case
Asset inventory
Equipment
iPhone, mounted on car windscreen
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works uses Mapillary for quick inventory of 30,000 traffic signs on unincorporated county roads. Traffic inspectors drive out with action cameras mounted on their vehicles when a new capture or a refresh is needed. Upon upload to Mapillary, the imagery is available to view in ArcGIS and the automatically extracted traffic signs are provisioned as shapefiles.
Match images to parcels for land registration and appraisals
Erie County, OH
Use case
Property and land use surveys
Equipment
Multiple Sony action cameras
The Erie County OH Auditor uses Mapillary for virtual site visits as part of the assessment workflow. The auditor collects imagery with four Sony action cams mounted multi-directionally on the vehicle to collect different vantage points. Upon upload to Mapillary, the imagery is available in Bruce Harris' Paperless Reappraisal System, to complement the county's oblique imagery.
Provide fresh visual information of roads
Lithuanian Road Administration
Use case
Road administration
Equipment
Ladybug 5
Lithuanian Road Administration (LRA) partnered with the nonprofit Road and Transport Research Institute to capture 360° imagery across a road network spanning 21,244 kilometers using the Ladybug 5 camera system. The 4 TB photolog was uploaded to Mapillary for cloud hosting, enabling public distribution as open data, lower storage costs, and easy integration into other applications. The project is intended to give the most up-to-date visual information about Lithuanian highways and road assets, as well as to support future planning efforts.
Host and view pavement and right-of-way imagery
Vermont Agency of Transportation
Use case
Transportation
Equipment
Professional rig
Vermont Department of Transportation (VTrans) hosted 5 years of road imagery on Mapillary as open data. 5 million images are now available to the public as well as for VTrans to use in their work. Mapillary offers them a delightful viewing experience, integration into their key workflows (e.g. traffic sign inspection, pavement maintenance), and automated feature extraction for surveys and inventories.
Create map data from open street level-imagery
City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Use case
Open data
Equipment
Open data
The City of Amsterdam captured and released 800,000 panoramic images of the city as part of their City Data open data initiative. Within a week of the release, the 10 TB dataset of imagery was uploaded to Mapillary, and processed to extract images containing street signs, street lights, crosswalks, trash cans, and more.
Make roads safer for cyclists
BikeOttawa, Canada
Use case
Road safety
Equipment
Smartphones and action cameras mounted on bicycles
Bike Ottawa, the leading citizen group for bike safety in Ottawa, captured 450,000 images across 2,000 km in a little over a month to gather data for bike advocacy. The imagery is being used to determine the need for infrastructure creation and maintenance, build a model for traffic stress levels, and monitor developments over time.
Collect location data together with citizens'
City of Johns Creek, GA
Use case
Citizen engagement
Equipment
Garmin Virbs on city vehicles
The City of Johns Creek GA implemented Mapillary as a cost-effective tool for collecting street-level imagery to improve access to open data. With help of citizens, they were able to collect and maintain comprehensive location data for public and private assets on city streets. This gave the city staff access to recent geospatial data across the ArcGIS platform with the opportunity to keep the imagery current with frequent updates.
Track creation of public spaces
Project for Public Spaces, NY
Use case
Public spaces and placemaking
Equipment
Smartphones, on foot
Project for Public Spaces, the NYC-based NGO leading the placemaking movement, worked with local partners in Philadelphia to transform the City Hall courtyard into a thriving showcase for the up-and-coming arts scene. PPS gathered input from local artists for designing an actual stage as a performance venue, and added sustainability features throughout the space.
Create fresh imagery and maps post-catastrophe for emergency response
Red Cross
Use case
Disaster relief
Equipment
Garmin Virb mounted on Red Cross vehicles
The Red Cross partners with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap and Doctors Without Borders on Missing Maps, a humanitarian project that maps parts of the world vulnerable to natural disasters, conflicts, and disease epidemics. Mapillary has collaborated with Missing Maps on capture efforts in Haiti, West Africa, and Bangladesh. The Red Cross was also one of the first organizations on the ground in Dominica in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, capturing valuable imagery for delivering aid and assessing damage.
Create better maps for delivering aid and developing infrastructure
Ramani Huria, Tanzania
Use case
Humanitarian aid
Equipment
Garmin Virb mounted on a bajaj
The World Bank, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the Red Cross, and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team support Dar Ramani Huria, a community mapping project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In a city facing rapid growth, congestion, and bi-annual flooding, the lack of maps for developing resilient infrastructure is a critical problem.
Increase mobility by crowdsourcing imagery
Swiss Federal Railways
Use case
Mobility and pedestrian access
Equipment
Smartphones on foot
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), in partnership with MyHandicap, launched a public website (ViaStaziun.ch) to display crowdsourced Mapillary imagery of train stations in Switzerland. The goal of the website is to provide visuals of station features including stairs, construction work, barriers, and other hurdles that may affect how people with reduced mobility travel. SBB used Mapillary for hosting the imagery to encourage public sharing of imagery to drive crowdsourcing.
Survey rural road development
The World Bank
Use case
Infrastructure development
Equipment
Android, mounted on car windscreen
The Laos Department of Transport does not have a complete map of its national road network, beyond national and provincial-level roads, or a modern system for road condition monitoring. The World Bank supported a data collection pilot, integrating the use of Mapillary, OSM, and QGIS as a basis for road inventory development and updating in a resource-scarce environment.
Start accessing imagery and map data
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