Tags: Google, Satellite Navigation, North Korea
Publication: Phys.org
Publication Date: 01/30/2013

The updated view of North Korea on Google Maps now incorporates main roads. Image credit: Google Maps

After Google unveiled its new online maps of North Korea on Wednesday, the company has hyped studies that highlight how internet navigation tools can help boost the economic development of nations.

Geospatial technology benefits businesses by helping to reduce costs for logistics, and increasing their marketing potential. Oxera estimates that businesses around the world have saved approximately $17.3 billion because of using navigation technology to improve their logistics.

Governments are also increasingly using the technology for emergency and disaster response, urban planning and transit improvements.

According to a report by Oxera, the global geospatial industry accounts for $270 billion in annual revenue and companies in the sector pay more than $90 billion in wages each year. Additionally, the report predicts that the industry will grow by 30 percent annually.

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