Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and Chairman of Ola Group, has announced a major shift for developers and users, urging them to move away from Google Maps in favor of Ola Maps. Here's a breakdown of what this means and why it's happening.
Aggarwal's tweet highlights the free access for developers to Ola Maps via Krutrim, Ola's in-house AI firm, with over ₹100 crore in free credits. The push comes after Ola's recent exit from Microsoft Azure, aiming to build a more localised and efficient mapping solution tailored to India's unique challenges.
Why Ola Maps? Aggarwal claims western mapping apps often fall short in addressing India's complex street names, frequent urban changes, and diverse traffic conditions. Ola Maps promises improved accuracy and real-time data, leveraging AI and contributions to open-source platforms like OpenStreetMap.
According to Aggarwal here’s what Ola Maps offers:
Ola Group claims the need for a localised solution became evident as India emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, with Western providers failing to prioritize Indian needs. Ola Maps aims to fill this gap, providing an alternative designed for India’s unique environment.
Ola Maps utilizes real-time data from millions of vehicles, Ola’s 360-degree cameras, government repositories, and OpenStreetMap, contributing significantly to open-source efforts.
AI Integration
AI and machine learning enhance map data, providing real-time, context-aware information in multiple languages. The use of Neural Radiance Fields (NERFs) aids in creating photorealistic, dynamically rendered environments.
Routing and tiles
Ola Maps’ routing capabilities offer personalized routes based on user preferences, real-time traffic data, and historical speed predictions. The tiling system ensures consistent and high-quality map rendering.
Ola Maps has been integrated into various Ola services. Ola claims that in Ola Electric, the on-device navigation usage has quadrupled. For Ola cabs consumer, the new platform aims to enhance ride matching, price predictions, and overall navigation accuracy.