Hivemapper unveils the Bee dashcam as its latest countermeasure against Google’s map dominance
Hivemapper, a mapping startup, is set to launch a new dashcam called the Hivemapper Bee later this year. The introduction of this new dashcam is part of Hivemapper’s strategy to decentralize mapping and make map data more accessible and affordable. With the Bee camera, Hivemapper aims to expand its market beyond ride-hail and delivery drivers to include owners of corporate fleets.
The Bee camera is designed to be more hands-off or “passive” compared to previous models. It is weather-sealed and robust, allowing drivers to mount it outside their vehicles if needed. Additionally, the Bee camera no longer requires connection to the Hivemapper smartphone app to upload footage, and it performs more on-device processing of captured data. These features are intended to make the Bee camera more appealing to corporate fleet customers.
Hivemapper has already made significant progress in mapping efforts, with its community of contributors mapping 8 million kilometers (5 million miles) of roads worldwide in just 16 months. The company aims to reach 10 million kilometers by early 2024. This milestone was achieved four times faster than Google’s Street View, according to Hivemapper.
The Hivemapper Bee offers several improvements over the company’s current cameras. It features a larger GPS antenna for more precise positioning and the ability to shoot 4K footage at 30 frames per second. Preorders for the Bee begin today, and Hivemapper plans to start shipping the camera in the third quarter of this year. The LTE-enabled version of the Bee will cost $549, while the WiFi-only variant will be priced at $449.
According to Gabe Nelson, Hivemapper’s head of operations, the company’s crowdsource community can build up map data much faster compared to Google, which updates its maps only once every year or couple of years due to the high cost and complexity of its vehicles. Nelson expects this rate to accelerate as Hivemapper works through a backlog of more than 15,000 customers and begins shipping the Bee.
Hivemapper’s focus goes beyond just capturing roads; the company aims for frequency in mapping, with the goal of providing more frequent updates than traditional mapping providers like Google. This approach not only improves the quality of map data but also creates new business opportunities. Hivemapper recently launched Scout, a location monitoring tool that allows customers to receive images of marked locations every time a Hivemapper driver passes by. Customers can even place bounties on locations to incentivize more frequent passes.
The Bee is expected to benefit Hivemapper’s contributors as well. With higher-quality map data and more autonomous features like auto-uploading, contributors are less likely to forget to submit data, leading to improved overall map quality and increased compensation in the form of Honey tokens.
