Aiming to take its operating system iOS to the next level, Apple has acquired Sweden based 3D mapping company C3 (News - Alert) Technologies, reports 9to5Mac. According to 9to5Mac, since the debut of iPhone in 2007, Apple’s iOS devices have made use of an Apple-built Google Maps application to provide users with a quick glance at driving directions to the destination. And Apple (News - Alert) continues to improve its operating system iOS and its use in mapping.

Last summer, Apple went a step further in pursuit of a completely in-house mapping solution and acquired a 3D mapping firm called Poly9, reports 9to5Mac.

Over the weekend, 9to5Mac confirmed that Apple has purchased a second 3D mapping company. And it is C3 Technologies. Apple is now the owner of C3 Technologies, wrote 9to5Mac reporter Mark Gurman.

According to 9to5Mac sources, C3 Technologies’ CEO Mattias Astrom, CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead C3 product manager Ludvig Emgard are now working within Apple’s iOS division. The leading trio, along with most of the former C3 Technologies team, is still working as a team in Sweden. As per Gurman’s report, the division is now called “Sputnik”, where the C3 Technologies company was located prior to the Apple acquisition.

In his report, Gurman wrote that C3 Technologies creates incredibly high-quality and detailed 3D maps with virtually no input from humans. The 3D mapping is camera based and the technology picks up buildings, homes, and even smaller objects like trees. C3′s solution comes from declassified missile targeting methods, as per the report.

Officially, C3 Technologies is the leading provider of 3D mapping solutions, offering photo-realistic models of the world for search, navigation and geographic information systems. “Since 2007 when it was spun out of the aerospace and defense company Saab AB, venture-backed C3 has redefined mapping by applying previously classified image processing technology to the development of 3D maps as a platform for new social and commercial applications,” wrote Gurman.