Microsoft Research Tool Geocodes Unstructured Addresses

Microsoft Research India developed the software which enables locating addresses in structured formats from any country.

A prototype of the system, currently called Robust Location Search, is up and running and the research group is already in talks to add it into Windows Live Local.

The underlying algorithm uses geospatial data to figure out “what location the terms in the address string match with” and locates them on a map. The system was developed in India where address often are represented as “near” or “across from” a landmark. This sounds a bit akin to MetaCarta’s tools for geocoding unstructured data, though that company, in my experience, does not position its offerings specifically for addresses, but rather general location information.

- PC World