Maps Vision: A Computer Vision-based System for Detecting Discrepancies in Map Textual Labels

We demonstrate MapsVision, a computer vision-based framework capable of identifying discrepancies across different map providers for similar geographical locations. In this study, we primarily focus on three map providers including: (a) Bing Maps, (b) Google Maps, and (c) OpenStreetMap. MapsVision detects textual data discrepancies such as: (1) missing location labels (2) misspelled or different keywords, (3) shifted labels, and (4) level of significance manifested by text or label font-size and color. For a given location, our MapsVision framework compares textual labels based on a ground truth entered manually to those that exist in the three map providers. We then use the results of the textual extraction to determine the accuracy of textual data appearing on map providers. Our framework intelligently identifies the set of techniques for each map providers' that can maximize the overall detection accuracy. MapsVision is composed of three main building blocks including: (a) a capturing module that captures map tiles from map providers, (b) an analysis tool that uses computer vision and text-analytic techniques, and (c) a rich visualization interface for displaying statistical and real-time analytics. The objective of MapsVision is to help map editors improve the textual quality of their maps compared to other map providers.