Getting drivers to solve gaps in its database by chomping virtual cherries.
Mobile turn-by-turn navigation app Waze has found a quirky way to patch holes in its roads database: cherries.
The app's developers are placing virtual cherries or other 'goodies' at points in the map where their data is sketchy, and are encouraging users to drive over them.
"If there's an area where we detect a disconnect in two streets on the map, we'll place a goodie over there in what we believe is the point of intersection," Waze tells Gizmodo.
"Then, when someone heads over to munch the 'goodie', it will solve the disconnect, telling the waze system that these two streets do indeed intersect."
So, users aren't getting points or competing against each other, but are helping Waze to improve its data in a cheap but innovative way.
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Now, if they could just stick some ghosts in there...
