About Navigate Maps

What is Navigate?
Navigate is the new community platform powering the next generation data ecosystem. Every day, each of us contributes to the data trails that power today’s applications and services, but only a small number of companies actually profit from it. We aim to reverse this trend by enabling individuals, groups, and companies to share data with Web3 app builders and be rewarded for their contributions. Navigate is designed to be the ultimate destination for contributing and sourcing the critical data you collect or cause to be created—information we call next generation data (NGD). But Navigate will be much more than just a repository of this data; it will be the catalyst for app innovation. The Navigate ecosystem will be a launchpad for data driven applications, where NGD will be used to build new, exciting apps on the Navigate platform.
Navigate is creating a new way for the world to share data, build applications, and get rewarded for contributions. Navigate consists of data vaults for crowdsourcing large, high-quality data sets, where users can upload, share, and monetize data they have collected through their smartphones, drones, or other devices. 
What problem does Navigate solve?
Navigate effectively answers the question of how we can monetize our data and have a say in what it is used for, by allowing end users to collect data independently, contribute data to the platform, and be rewarded for their contribution. There are now 4.88 billion people using the internet – with each interaction generating useful data that in most cases, users are unaware of and have little control over. With Navigate, users can now contribute this data to products they believe in.
Simultaneously, Navigate provides access to next generation data (NGD) for Web3 developers. Simply put, this is the critical data that developers and companies need to build a new class of applications. It includes, among many other things, data captured by robotics, autonomous vehicles, IoT sensors, drones, dashcams, and much more. Navigate gives users and developers access to this data—information that is rich with insights, but has historically been siloed or inaccessible—to help build the next wave of exciting applications, like Navigate Maps.
What is Navigate Maps?
Navigate Maps will be a new type of map application that crowdsources high-quality imagery from its community to create an immersive, constantly-refreshing view of the world. Navigate Maps will be the first ever app on the Navigate platform, created by the Navigate team.
Can I contribute to Navigate Maps?
Yes! Navigate Maps will provide users with the opportunity to earn rewards by contributing data they both passively and actively collect, such as drone or dashcam imagery. To contribute data to Navigate Maps, visit data.nvg8.io.
How can I earn rewards for my contributions to Navigate?
Once launched, users will be able to earn NVG8 (Navigate's native ERC-20 token) by contributing to data vaults. For more information on the NVG8 token, check the section on Tokenomics.
What makes Navigate Maps different from traditional mapping and satellite applications?
By leveraging contributors’ data, Navigate Maps offers data sets that go far beyond those provided by mapping vendors today, giving users access to ultra-high-definition imagery that is constantly updated and surpassing traditional satellite-based map offerings on the web. Next generation data will unlock so many exciting, new insights that haven’t yet been possible in a map application!
For instance, imagine being able to look at a map and see details you haven’t been able to see before, such as the number of cars in line at a drive through at 10:00 am last Saturday, or the number of solar panels installed in a neighborhood, or the progress on a construction project many states away that you are interested in, or trending areas in a city you are planning to visit soon. High resolution, low altitude data truly opens the door to endless innovation and exciting user experiences.
Over time, Navigate will continue to introduce and roll out new features to enhance the value of Navigate Maps.
When will Navigate Maps be viewable to users?
The alpha version of Navigate Maps is live and free for anyone to view! You can explore imagery in Navigate Maps alpha here: https://maps.nvg8.io/​
What data can I upload to Navigate Maps?
In September 2022, we opened Navigate Maps' first data vault, our Aerial Vault, which accepts aerial images from users flying drones and other aerial vehicles. Navigate Maps' second vault, our Street Level Vault, helps us enrich Navigate Maps with incredible street-level detail. You can contribute both data sets by creating a contribuotr account at https://data.nvg8.io/. 
Long term, we plan on expanding into other high-demand data sets across climate, health, mobility, and IoT -- giving users more ways to contribute, and giving developers more next generation assets to leverage. If you would like to be notified when these vaults are opened to the community, sign up to our newsletter for updates.
Where do I contribute data to Navigate Maps?
You can upload data today for Navigate Maps at data.nvg8.io. Be sure to take a look at our Getting Started Guide and data requirements before you upload!
How does Navigate work?
When you contribute data to a vault, that asset is scrubbed, anonymized, encrypted, and then uploaded to IPFS. Contributions are recorded on chain and trigger user rewards in the form of NVG8 tokens. Through Navigate’s API, developers will also be able to use NVG8 tokens to access the data stored in vaults.
Why is Navigate built on the Polygon network?
Navigate chose to build on the Polygon Network for a number of reasons, including the network’s impressively high speeds and superior performance; ready-made strong community; low and predictable transaction fees; and sustainable Proof-of-Stake protocol. The Polygon Network has grown significantly, with more than 130 million addresses registered (by 2022).
Who will use the data uploaded to the Navigate platform?
Initially, data shared with Navigate will be used to fuel Navigate Maps, the platform’s first application built by the Navigate team. Long term, we will collaborate with the community to build the next wave of applications on the platform.
Some examples of the groups that could leverage data on Navigate to build new apps include:
Software companies searching for annotated images to improve machine learning algorithms
Auto manufacturers willing to pay for dashcam, battery, and/or lidar data to advance AI capabilities
Climate change researchers looking for live CO2 emissions or air quality index (AQI) statistics
City planners searching for anonymized location data to assess traffic congestion patterns
Agriculture professionals or farmers looking for crop imagery to assess trends in performance
Real-estate professionals sourcing high-quality drone footage of properties they intend to sell
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Last modified 1mo ago