New data on 200 million+ addresses
added in alpha release
SAN
FRANCISCO, July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Overture
Maps Foundation, a collaborative effort to enable current and
next-generation interoperable open map services and
products, today announced the General Availability (GA) of
several of its global open maps datasets, paving the way for new
and expanded use cases for a wide range of commercial mapping
applications and geospatial analysis.
New data on 200 million+ addresses added in
alpha release.
Mapping service and application providers can use Overture's
open data for various uses including visual maps and
spatial analysis. The data is delivered in a documented schema
that allows developers to access it in a consistent way in their
applications. To tailor the maps or analysis, developers can attach
other spatial data to the entities in the base map via a unique
identifier that makes data conflation much easier than it is today.
In that way, the Overture data acts as a common, shared backbone
for an expanding catalog of linked data.
"The data in this GA release is already powering use cases in
local discovery, insurance, and mapping industries, and we
expect many more use cases in the coming months from industries
ranging from automotive to ride-sharing and more," said
Marc Prioleau, executive director of
Overture Maps Foundation. "Getting to GA is a major milestone
because it opens the gates for adoption by map developers. As the
map data gets used, developers and users will provide feedback
which creates mechanisms for continuous improvement."
Leading Overture members, including Meta, Microsoft, Esri, and
TomTom, are already incorporating Overture datasets into
services and products.
"This GA release is just the beginning," said Jan Erik Solem, chair of the Overture steering
committee and Director, Maps at Meta. "Next-generation map products
will enable a broad range of goods and services and Overture is on
the leading edge of developing the open map data that will underpin
that innovation. Meta is already using this dataset for maps
across Meta applications, and I encourage all to look at it, use
it, and help us make it better."
Coincident with the July release, Overture also
made an alpha release of a new Address theme. The initial
release includes 14 countries with over 200 million addresses.
The alpha release allows the public to see the proposed schema.
Feedback from this release will inform the schema evolution to
ensure it can work across a worldwide set of address data. Today,
companies access address data from a multitude of open data sources
but those sources often have different licenses, formats, and
schemas. Once in Overture, the addresses will also have unique
identifiers to enable rapid attachment of outside data. Address
data will further enable advancements in navigation, logistics,
search, and other applications.
Along with address data, Overture is adding visualization
tools to make the dataset easier to explore and download. A
feedback loop will be built in so the tool is continually
improved.
Overture is unique in allowing companies to attach outside data
to the Overture base map via Overture's Global Entity
Reference System or GERS. GERS IDs, or unique identifiers, are
attached to entities in the data. This allows data to be
consistently, correctly, and more quickly added to the map.
Overture data is sourced from the best open map data sources and
conflated into a single dataset. The GA release includes four
themes, some of which are already informing use cases:
- Buildings. Includes 2.3 billion unique building
footprints worldwide. It already powers Microsoft's Bing Maps,
Esri's ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and Addresscloud's
insurance service platform, which provides insurers flood-level
risk metrics for individual buildings. Look for more use cases from
things such as property management, other risk assessment, economic
development, 3D visualization, and more.
- Places of Interest. Offers data on nearly 54 million
places worldwide, but will expand as new data is added. More
broadly, other members can layer social signals, etc. on top of
places for their own offerings.
- Divisions. National and regional administrative
boundaries translated into over 40 different languages to support
international use.
- Base. Contextual layers include land and water data and
help complete display maps when needed.
The Transportation theme will continue in Beta as Overture
finalizes network segmentation and implements broad schema changes.
It is expected to move to GA within a few months. Users can look
forward to improvements such as more detailed and accurate data
from aerial imagery, clearer road routes with recognizable highway
signs, comprehensive rail and ferry route data, and better handling
of complex traffic rules and restrictions. These updates will make
Overture's data layers more reliable and user-friendly across a
wide range of applications.
To join the Overture community by becoming a member, please
visit:
https://overturemaps.org/become-a-member/
About Overture Maps Foundation
Founded in 2022,
Overture Maps Foundation is the world's leading home for
collaboration on the development of reliable, easy-to-use, and
interoperable open map data that will power current and
next-generation map products. This interoperable map is the basis
for extensibility, enabling companies to contribute their own data.
Members combine resources to build map data that is complete,
accurate, and refreshed as the physical world changes. Map data
will be open and extensible by all under an open data license. For
more information, please visit overturemaps.org.
Media Contact:
Nora
Anwar
pr@overturemaps.org
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/overture-maps-foundation-releases-general-availability-of-its-open-maps-datasets-302204733.html
SOURCE Overture Maps Foundation