Where typically a rack in a retail outlet may hold 20 maps, the MapMachine may offers 20,000 or more. We are already seeing much more content becoming available for maps. The former Soviet Union countries and those of the Soviet bloc have started making their maps available commercially, and they've added a lot more information to what's out there for public use. National Geographic cartographers constantly think hard about how to make maps more useful and interesting. We stay abreast of new technologies and we try to be creative about how to adapt them to maps.
Maps are at a tool to deliver accurate, vital information quickly.
We're looking at how we can use mobile devices to do that. They will be powered by tiny chips. 3-D images that will appear in front of you or on a folding screen. You will be able to rotate them and zoom in or out and virtually experience being inside the map. I sense that there is always something out there that someone is even now developing in her or his garage.