The modern map is ingrained in every aspect of our lives, from commuting to ordering products on the Internet and even choosing the best restaurant in your area. You use and depend on them far more than you probably realize, guiding you through our hyper-tech world in ever more efficient and useful ways.

Apps have become the champions of the digital map and a lot of apps use GPS overlays to guide you to desired destinations. Some of the more complex mapping applications include an impressive combination of GPS, historical maps, and user input. The app allows people to quickly and accurately report the location of crimes.

Not only do these reports allow police to respond quickly with pinpoint accuracy, but they are also recorded in a database where, over time, patterns of different crimes in different areas accumulate, resulting in “warning zones.” from high-risk areas. Using historical map data as a canvas and GPS fixes as ink, this revolutionary app has created an informative mosaic in cyberspace.

At the core of most modern mapping conveniences, GPS satellites are the unsung heroes of our modern world. Without them, we would not have a global positioning network or digital mapping systems, plunging the world into utter chaos. Airplanes wouldn’t know where they are, because sat navs will be taking people to fields (more than they already are) and you’d have to go out and physically look for good restaurants…a horrible thought.

Without the conveniences of modern maps, society would stop and go back in time for decades. No longer would you be able to put an address into a device and have it tell you where to go, you would have to read road signs and ask people for directions. It would be total pandemonium.

We take maps for granted today because we rarely see them in their classical form. Probably the most obvious mapping service used is Google Maps, which not only allows you to see road maps anywhere on the planet, but also allows you to see individual buildings; extremely useful when it comes to finding out what a place is like and where it is.

Maps have been constantly evolving since their creation and have been crucial to society at every stage of history. This is still true today and will be as long as people need to get from A to B.