Bing Maps is a web mapping service provided as a part of Microsoft's Bing
suite of search engines and powered by the Bing Maps for Enterprise framework.
Features = Street maps =
Users can browse and search topographically-shaded street maps for
many cities worldwide. Maps include certain points of interest built-in,
such as metro stations, stadiums, hospitals, and other facilities. It is
also possible to browse public user-created points of interest.
Searches can cover public collections, businesses or types of business,
locations, or people. Five street map views are available: Road View, Aerial
View, Bird’s Eye View, StreetSide View, and 3D View.
Road view Road view is the default map view and
displays vector imagery of roads, buildings, and geography. The data from
which the default road map is rendered is licensed from Navteq. In certain
parts of the world, road view maps from alternative data providers are also
available. For example, when viewing a map of London, road data from the
Collins Bartholomew London Street Map may be displayed. In all parts of the
UK, road data from the Ordnance Survey can also be displayed. A Bing Maps app
is available that will display road data from OpenStreetMap.
Aerial view Aerial view overlays satellite imagery
onto the map and highlights roads and major landmarks for easy identification
amongst the satellite images. Since end of November 2010, OpenStreetMap mappers
are allowed to use imagery of Bing Aerial as backdrop.
At the end of January 2012, both Bing Aerial and Birds Eye View imagery at
military bases in Germany became blurred. This was on request of the
German government obviously using data of OpenStreetMap.
Bird's-eye view Bird's-eye view displays aerial imagery
captured from low-flying aircraft. Unlike the top-down aerial view captured
by satellite, Bird's-eye images are taken at an oblique 45-degree angle,
showing the sides and roofs of buildings giving better depth perception for
geography. With Bird's Eye views, many details such as signs, advertisements
and pedestrians are clearly visible. Available : ITALY : Avezzano,
Caserta(and its palace) Como, Genova, Lavis, Malnate(half),Milano(and its
urban area), Napoli,Novara,Palermo, Piacenza,Pompeia(and its archeological
ruins), Potenza,Reggio,Roma,Trento,Venice(and
much of its region),Varese,Vercelli,Verona( and
surrounding area), USA: Los Angeles, San Francisco
Streetside Streetside provides 360-degree imagery
of street-level scenes taken from special cameras mounted on moving
vehicles. Launched in December 2009 it contains imagery for selected metro
areas in the United States as well as selected areas in Vancouver and
Whistler, British Columbia associated with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Selected cities in Europe were also made available in May 2012. Before this,
German customers were allowed to appeal against integration of their house or
flat in Bing Streetside between August and September 2011. According to some
officials, the number of appeals was significantly lower than with Google
Street View. Only 40,000 requests were sent to Microsoft.
Venue maps Venue maps provides a way of seeing the
layout of the venue. Currently, Bing Maps provides maps & level wise layouts
of over 5300 venues across the world. The categories are: Airports, Amusement
Parks, Buildings, Convention Centers, Hospitals, Malls, Museums, Parks,
Racecourses, Racetracks, Resorts, Shopping Centers, Shopping Districts,
Stadiums, Universities and Zoos. 3D maps
The 3D maps feature allows users to see the environment in 3D, with the added
ability to rotate and tilt the angle in addition to panning and zooming. To
attempt to achieve near-photorealism, all 3D buildings are textured using
composites of aerial photography. To view the 3D maps, users must install a
plugin, then enable the "3D" option on "Bing Maps". In addition to exploring
the maps using a mouse and keyboard, it is possible to navigate the 3D
environment using an Xbox 360 controller or another game controller in Windows 7
, Windows Vista or Windows XP. More than 60 cities worldwide could be
viewed in 3D, including most of the major cities in the United States and a
few cities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. Some additional
cities have had a select few important landmarks modelled in 3D, such as the
Colosseum in Rome. Terrain data is available for the entire world. It is
also possible to use a 3D modelling program called 3DVIA Shape for Maps to
add one's own models to the 3D map. Since 2014, new 3D imagery has been
introduced to a number of new cities. = Driving, walking, and transit
directions = Users can get directions between two or
more locations. In September 2010, Bing Maps added public transit directions to
its available direction options. Currently transit directions are only
available in 11 cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark Metro
Area, New York Metro Area, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver BC,
and Washington DC. = Map apps =
Bing Map Apps is a collection of 1st and 3rd party applications that add
additional functionality and content to Bing Maps. Examples of map apps include
a parking finder, a taxi fare calculator, an app that maps out
Facebook friends, and an app which lets users explore the day's newspaper front
pages from around the world. These apps are only accessible through Bing Maps
Silverlight. A source code is available on Microsoft Developer Network to
explain integration of Maps in Web Applications. A sample ongoing project
on locating Blood Donors on Maps is available here.
= Traffic information and ClearFlow = Bing Maps shows users current traffic
information for major highways and roads. The feature users 4 color codes
to indicate traffic volume, from heaviest traffic to lightest traffic.
Microsoft announced in March 2008 that it will release its latest software
technology called "ClearFlow". It is a Web-based service for traffic-based
driving directions available on Bing.com in 72 cities across the U.S. The tool
took five years for Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence team to develop.
ClearFlow provides real-time traffic data to help drivers avoid traffic
congestion. ClearFlow gives information for alternative routes and supplies
traffic conditions on city streets adjacent to highways. Clearflow
anticipates traffic patterns, while taking into account sporting/arena
events, time of day and weather conditions, and then reflects the back
ups and their consequential spill over onto city streets. Often, ClearFlow
found it may be faster to stay on the highway instead of seeking alternative
side street routes, which involve traffic lights and congestion as well.
= Sharing and embedding maps = Bing Maps allows users to share maps and
embed maps into their websites. By clicking the e-mail icon in the
bottom-left corner of Bing Maps, a window will open that displays a
shareable URL so others can access the map currently being viewed. This window
also provides HTML code to embed a small version of the map onto any web page.
= Design = In August 2010, Bing Maps launched an
overhauled design for its default view. The new colors create a more visually
appealing backdrop for information delivery that helps content ‘pop’ on the
map. The backdrop provides clear differentiation for pushpins, labels and
red, yellow and green traffic overlays. These design principles also works well
in black and white and creates differentiation for those with the most
common forms of color blindness. Also, larger fonts correspond to larger roads
to help customers more easily identify main roads in cities. More readable
labels eliminate the need for bolding and less-attractive glows. The inclusion
of neighborhood labels allows users to quickly find or convey locations in a
commonly used and highly relevant format.
Other features = People, business, and location search
The search box at the top of Bing Maps can be used to locate places, businesses
and landmarks, and people. Search results appear both on a left-side rail
and as pushpins on the map. Search results often include addresses, contact
information, and reviews for businesses and landmarks. For relevant searches,
the user will also see a description of the landmark or place if a Wikipedia
article exists. The search process can also be guided using local directories
for numerous categories. = User contributions =
Bing Maps users can also view and add "user contributed" entries to the map.
These user-contributions must be toggled on by users. Such items can include
businesses, landmarks, buildings, locations, as well as Microsoft
Photosynths. Users can browse user-contributions by tags and subscribe
to RSS feeds to receive updates of new user-contributions to a specific area.
= Dynamic labels = In August 2010, Bing Maps added dynamic
labels to its Silverlight experience. Turn on the dynamic labels beta from the
map style selector on bing.comexplore and the labels become clickable. This
allows users to quickly zoom down to a region or location anywhere on the map
with just a few clicks. Zooming back out in a single click is also possible by
using the ‘breadcrumb’ trail at the top left of the map.
AJAX and Silverlight versions Bing Maps has two separate versions for
users: an AJAX version and an opt-in Silverlight version that requires
Microsoft Silverlight to be installed. The Silverlight version is positioned to
offer richer, more dynamic features and a smoother experience. In November 2010,
the AJAX and Silverlight versions were combined into a semi-hybrid site where
Silverlight features such as Map Apps and Streetside could be enabled through
the Bing.com/Maps site - these features still required Silverlight to be
installed, but does not require use of a separate Bing Maps site.
The AJAX and Silverlight site share the following features: Road View, Aerial
View, Bird’s-Eye View, Sharing Maps, PeopleLocation Search, Building
Footprints, Driving Directions, Walking Directions.
Silverlight users exclusively can use Map Apps, StreetSide View, Photosynths,
and Dynamic Labels. Map apps
= Access = Bing Map Apps are accessed either
through the "Map Apps" button in the Bing Maps Explore Bar or through direct
perma-links. The Map Apps button is only viewable if the user is in the Bing Maps
Silverlight experience or in Windows 8. = Bing map apps =
There are a number of map apps that are developed/published by Bing, as
indicated by the publisher above the map app’s name in the app gallery. The
following are a list of 1st party apps: = Third-party apps =
Bing Map Apps also allows third parties to create and submit map apps. The
following are a list of 3rd party map apps:
Map coverage = Global Ortho Program =
In July 2010, Microsoft and DigitalGlobe, a leading global content
provider of high-resolution earth imagery solutions, announced the
collection of the first imagery from the company's Advanced Ortho Aerial Program.
Through a special agreement with Microsoft, the Advanced Ortho Aerial
Program will provide wall-to-wall 30 cm aerial coverage of the contiguous United
States and Western Europe that DigitalGlobe has the exclusive rights to
distribute beyond Bing Maps. The program's first orthophoto mosaics are
of Augusta, GA, San Diego, CA and Tampa, FL, and can be viewed on DigitalGlobe's
website. = Americas =
= Africa = = Europe =
= Asia / Oceania = = Middle East =
History Bing Maps was based on existing
Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft MapPoint, and TerraServer. The original
version lacked many of its distinguishing features, including
birds' eye view and 3D maps, and the Collections functionality was limited to
a single "Scratchpad" of points of interest. Upon its release in December
2005, Windows Live Local became the public face of the Virtual Earth
platform. On November 6, 2006, Microsoft added the ability to view the maps in 3D
using a .NET managed control and managed interfaces to Direct3D. Microsoft
subsequently referred to this product officially as "Live Search Maps",
integrating it as part of its Live Search services. On June 3, 2009,
Microsoft officially rebranded Live Search Maps as Bing Maps, and the
Virtual Earth platform as Bing Maps for Enterprise.
= Updates = v1
v2 - "Bird's-eye imagery" released v2.5
v3 - Real time traffic, collections, new API
v4 - People search, drawing on maps, new imagery
v5 - 3D viewer, building models in 15 cities
Data update - New 3D models and high-resolution imagery for 6 new areas
Data update - Over 100 European cities with bird's-eye coverage added
Data update - 3.8TB of bird's-eye imagery, orthophotos and 3D models of 5
British cities v5.5 VE 3D plugin for Firefox, GeoRSS
support, area calculations v6 - New data, party maps, traffic based
routing, v6 MapControl, Bird's Eye in 3D, etc.
v6.1 - Improved quality of 3D models, improved KML support and new export
capabilities, street labels on Bird's Eye imagery, MapCruncher integration, HD
filming capabilities, Clearflow traffic report system
v6.2 - Multi-point driving directions, landmarks in directions, weather, real
stars, new data Data Update - 48TB of road network data
v6.2 - Performance improvements Bing
Bing Maps Silverlight Beta - Silverlight, Twitter, Streetside
(Oslo) - Silverlight improvements (Boston M4) - New map style Venue maps
= Imagery updates = Bing maps frequently update and expand
the geographic areas covered by their imagery, with new updates being released
on roughly a monthly basis. Each imagery release typically contains more than
10TB of imagery. However, the necessary time-lapse before
images are updated means that aerial and Bird's-Eye images for a particular
location can sometimes be several years out-of-date. This is particularly
noticeable in locations that have undergone rapid recent development or
experienced other dramatic changes since the imagery was taken, such as areas
affected by natural disasters. Compatibility
Microsoft states that Bing Maps needs the following environment:
Windows XP with SP2 or a later version Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Windows Imaging Component 250 MB or more of hard disk space
A 1.0-gigahertz processor 256 MB of system memory
A 32-MB video card that supports Microsoft DirectX 9, with 3D hardware
acceleration enabled A high-speed or broadband Internet
connection Compatible browsers include Windows
Internet Explorer 6 or later, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or later, or Safari 3.1 or
later. Opera is stated to be usable "with some functionality limitations".
Users of browsers that are not considered compatible, as well as users
of versions of compatible browsers that are not supported, will be directed away
from viewing the map without an error message.
The 3D Maps viewer plug-in requires Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2,
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 with Internet
Explorer 68 or Firefox 1.53.0. See also
Here Yahoo! Maps
MapQuest Google Maps
Google Earth References
External links Bing Maps
Bing Maps for different regions Bing Maps Interactive source SDK
Official Bing Maps team blog Bing Maps for Enterprise and Government