LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — Check out this simply stunning 3D-mapping technology from Swedish-based C3 Technologies that elicited a uniform reaction of “holy %$*@!” from us when we saw it. One reason for its precision is that it was developed from recently declassified missile targeting technology originally developed by Swedish aerospace powerhouse Saab.
In the San Francisco map, each individual house has been rendered in 3D, and the SDK comes with both SF and London maps, with maps for other major cities available from C3 and more being added. C3 also has a companion streets-level application similar to Google’s SreetView.
Why is this new technology meaningful to the Apple world ? Because the tech has already been applied to the iPad (see vid clip of me playing around with the iPad’s version below), and is being released as an SDK for developers to use in navigation apps, social media, etc. We can’t wait.