In the tradition of Lewis and Clark, the team of Lynch and Clark is traveling west to explore uncharted territory–in this case, a recently expanded subdivision called Avalon Way, outside Baltimore.
Patrick Lynch, a field analyst, and Maureen Clark, an area manager, work for Navigation Technologies, an 18-year-old outfit in Chicago. Every month, they travel 1,000 miles in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, observing and recording data. When you request directions from MapQuest, the Internet mapping service, you’re ultimately relying on Lynch, Clark, and about 400 other geographers on the road.
MapQuest uses state-of-the-art satellite images and computer algorithms, but it also relies on actual observations in the field. So it is that an army of modern-day explorers is continually remapping the nation. As Clark steers a Ford Taurus through Avalon Way’s newest streets, she recites what she sees, starting with street names and building numbers at the beginning and end of a block. “Hemison– H-e-m-i-s-o-n –Court. There’s a gate . . . number four is on the right.”
Lynch scribbles on a digital notepad attached to a laptop wedged between them. His writing appears instantly on the map, in bright yellow scrawl. Navigation Technologies’ field analysts record up to 150 attributes for any given road–speed limit, turn restrictions, exit numbers, paved or unpaved–along with gas stations, restaurants, and hotels. “Most people hear what I do, and they think I’m just cruising around for hours,” says Lynch. “But you’re concentrating the whole time. You don’t want to miss anything.”
