Last week Microsoft used a talk at TED to unveil some new features for its Bing Maps platform. Goodies included slicker zooming, live georeferenced video feeds, integration of Flickr photos, Worldwide Telescope….a sort of “kitchen sink” of eye candy. But of course it’s only eye candy until professional and consumer focused developers tune it to solve specific problems for work and play. Our editors share what impressed them and consider how this enhanced platform might be used.
Remotely sensed data of Haiti became the basis for updating maps of the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripped through the country. Suddenly government, NGO, and volunteers collaborated using imagery provided by multiple sources including the USGS, NOAA, Google, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye and many other geospatial technology firms. The result was not only a tremendous outpouring of charity, but a technological success via social geonetworks and government agencies. Directions Magazine editor in chief Joe Francica provides a synopsis of how remote sensing became the foundation for many of Haiti’s rescue efforts.
Adena Schutzberg interviewed Jay Tilley, Sanborn’s Senior Vice President about why 3D data is important and how the industry is overcoming challenges such as cost, data fusion and the integration of real time data. Tilley also speaks to the future growth of 3D data development and its use in augmented reality applications. This interview is part of a series of interviews with geospatial insiders and outsiders.
Intermap has a signed an agreement to provide terrain data to Tele Atlas. For what geographies? I asked Intermap:
...the contract includes our NEXTMap coverage area – NEXTMap USA covering the contiguous U.S. plus Hawaii and NEXTMap Europe – covering 21 Western European countries – complete country list is detailed on http://www.intermap.com/nextmap-europe.
When will the data be in vehicle nav systems? “The Company is delivering data assets with a targeted launch into equipped automobiles in late 2010.”
earthmine’s street-level imagery may look like those captured by Google’s StreetView but the 360 degree by 180 degree (spherical) views with 50 megapixels of data have enough clarity, content, and accuracy for more demanding applications like asset management. Now, the company is looking to expand by attracting partners that can take its APIs and deliver data for specific projects. The company began a program in an effort to respond to the needs of clients putting together specific solutions for government and commercial applications. The Project Partner program is designed for coordinating data collection in a particular geographic area. Partners can license the data for use with the APIs for that geography and pricing is per linear mile.
The Collection Partner Program is a little different. These partners own and operate the earthmine system. Partners may own the vehicle while earthmine maintains copyright of the data. However, the partner gets exclusivity of data, market segment and geography while earthmine has residual rights and ownership. earthmine’s founder, John Ristevski says that, "Ideally we’d like to have as many partners in the program as possible." The company has slightly altered their business model since the company started in 2006. Ristevski said that, "the business model is to support all those layer and all those verticals and let the partners do the work in tailoring the end product. Has the model radically changed? “No, we just got a little smarter about it,” said Ristevski.
