Apple has won an 'Apple Maps' patent covering various data collecting methods such as Road Vehicles, Drones & Backpacks
Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to the field of digital maps. The operations include obtaining images, obtaining three-dimensional surface measurements and textures via varying methods including road vehicles, drones and humans with specialized backpacks with LIDAR and more.
Source: patentlyapple.com