New Geo APIs - 3/21/12

Shutl API: The UK service aggregates offerings from courier services and other shipping carriers to provide quotes for shipping and arrange delivery via the selected provider. It enables expedited delivery or scheduling of delivery within a 1-hour time window. A GPS-enabled tracking service maps shipment progress toward the destination.

API methods support retrieval of quotes from shipping carriers based on specified origin and destination points, carrier delivery terms, and related parameters. Methods also support contracting with the carrier to deliver the shipment. The API also allows access to specific delivery vehicle information.

Weather Decision Technologies API: Weather Decision Technologies is a provider of weather content including science weather detection, nowcasting, and forecasting. WDT's clients include most of the United States' leading weather services and interactive media outlets, as well as governmental, industrial and military weather customers from all over the world. WDT's iMap weather maps are the leading web and mobile solutions for local media. WDT supplies many raw meteorological data products to customers all over the World. These feeds are transmitted using a variety of methods, including proprietary satellite uplinks and the Internet. Documentation is not publicly available.

Autoaddress API: The service provides address capture and validation, with format clean-up and geocoding, for locations in Ireland. Autocomplete functions suggest valid choices during user data entry and apply address intelligence routines to capture and correct accurate, valid addresses. The system can be adapted to an application's address format preferences.

API methods support validation and autocorrection when a user completes data entry, returning status messages, geocoding information, and related application data. Reformat methods modify submitted addresses to match specified configuration options.

Dark Sky API: Dark Sky is an app that predicts the weather using location to figure out when it’s going to precipitate in the immediate future. It is meant to forecast the weather for a given location up to an hour in advance.

The Dark Sky API allows users to query for short-term precipitation forecast data at geographical points inside the United States. It can provide an hourly forecast, forecasts for a collection of points and a list of interesting storms currently happening. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON.

Onuma WFS API: The Onuma Web Feature Service (WFS) provides access to Onuma's geospatial data resources. This includes the locations and features of buildings, along with other Building Information Modeling (BIM) data. Users can query a specific geographic area determined either by input coordinates or by a drawn area that forms a bounding box. This service also allows users to make Onuma data available to other web services and applications.

Onuma WFS is based on open standards established by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and operates over GET and POST protocols.

- Programmable Web

And a bonus via @howardbutler: A font you can use in your web apps when you want tiny state shapes as a design element. It's called StateFace and is free to use, from ProPublica.      

Facebook Outlines Vision for Location APIs

Karan Mangla, an engineer at Facebook details the past and future of Facebook's use of check-ins, Places, tags and future developers APIs in Under the Hood: Building the Location API. This was posted Friday, two days before Facebook shut down Gowalla, the LBS app it acquired three months ago.

There's another somewhat post from earlier in the week: Building Better Stories with Location and Friends

via @JeffHarrison

- VentureBeat rewrote the Under the Hood post for those who prefer their version

New Geo APIs - 2/28/12

Bing Maps Geocode Dataflow API: The Geocode Dataflow API is a component of the Bing Spatial Data Services. The API is used to geocode and reverse-geocode large sets of spatial data. Additional functionality includes creating a job to geocode and reverse-geocode the data, upload data and get the status of a geocode job. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML, JSON, TXT and CSV.

Geo3DModelService API: The Geo3DModelService API, available via SOAP or REST protocols, is a program for generating cross-sectional models of subterranean conditions using geologic data. Users can create models of vertical or horizontal cross-sections with an accompanying key to make the generated map's meaning explicit.

Make The Change API: The service provides access to Canadian community data by mapping postal coded to electoral district identifier, which is the key to mapping districts, or "ridings," and giving access to demographic data. Initially limited to data about federal parliamentary districts in Canada, plans include access to value-added local data to support effective activism in elections.

 

EyeEm API: EyeEm is a photo-sharing and discovery app that allows users to connect through their photos. EyeEm categorizes photos by subject and location, and take the data from a user's own photos to recommend albums of similar photos of friends and like-minded people.

GSMA OneAPI Location API: The GSMA is an association of mobile operators worldwide. Representing more than 800 mobile operators in more than 220 countries, the GSMA supports the standardizing, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone system. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

The GSMA OneAPI is a set of APIs that expose network capabilities over HTTP. The OneAPI location interface allows a Web application to query the location of one or more mobile devices that are connected to a mobile operator network. It uses both REST and SOAP protocola with responses in XML and JSON.

Locaid API: Locaid is the world's largest location-enabling mobile transaction platform. Locaid specializes in location-enabled business applications, services and systems and integrating location feeds into back office systems and databases.

The Locaid API allows developers to integrate location services for uses such as validating legitimate credit card purchases and detecting fraud, automating timesheets for offsite employees, alerting workers to day jobs or tracking assets. The API uses SOAP protocol and responses are formatted in XML.

OpenHazards GetEarthquakeProbability API: The service gathers data from multiple sensor networks and public reports to generate forecasts of earthquake and seismic hazards. It does not aim to predict specific events but rather to generate probabilistic forecasts of risk based on event probability and likely damage, should those events occur. Its goal is to aid in preparation for natural catastrophes that can be anticipated.

API methods support submission of a location for which to generate a forecast along with a radius around that point, a timeframe, and a magnitude threshold. The service returns a forecast of the hazard that an earthquake above the stated threshold will occur within the radius around the stated location within the timeframe specified.

OpenPaths API: OpenPaths is an application that allows users to manage their personal location information. Users can track where they have been, visualize their locations, and share their data on the OpenPaths website.

The OpenPaths API allows developers to access and integrate the functionality and data of OpenPaths with other applications and to create new applications. API methods include posting and retrieving user data.

Pulsepoint API: The service creates a registry of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) who are willing to assist victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) near their locations. Members of the registry create entries indicating their willingness to respond and provide contact information. The service accepts notification from a participating agency of a cardiac emergency and contacts registry members near the location.

API methods support creation and tracking of incidents, including notifying agency, time, location, and type of incident. Methods also support designation of medical status of the victim and call status from the responding agency.

SideBuy API: Sidebuy is a daily deal and coupons aggregator that collects all deals from group buying websites and local stores and categorizes them.

Sidebuy API allows you to use Sidebuy's databases in order to display local deals, online deals, travel deals and coupons in your application or website. Deals can be filtered using their categories, prices, savings, locations, keywords and more.

The API uses REST protocol and responses are formatted in XML and JSON. This API is not branded and there is no daily limit for API calls.

Tax Data Service API: The service provides sales and use tax rates by location within the United States and Canada. A list of taxing jurisdictions with authority in a location may also be generated.

World Bank Climate API: The World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal offers information, reports, and data about climate and climate change.

The World Bank Climate API allows developers to access and integrate the data from the Climate Change Knowledge Portal with other applications and to create new applications. Some example API methods include searching and returning climate data points, such as average temperatures and rainfalls and changes in averages and by countries.

API methods accept submission of a five-digit U.S. ZIP code or an abbreviation specifying a Canadian province, then return current sales and use tax rates. If the submitted ZIP code or province matches multiple city/county combinations, multiple sets of data cover each of the taxing jurisdictions.

- Programmable Web

New Geo APIs - 2/22/12

Bing Traffic API: The Bing Traffic API provides information about traffic incidents and issues, such as construction sites and traffic congestion. Traffic incident information is currently available for the United States and Canada. Users can also get information about traffic issues that met the criteria specified in the URL request, such as map area, incident type and severity. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML and JSON.

deCarta MapSearch Engine API: deCarta is a location based services provider. The Map Search Engine API gives developers the ability to implement local search on their web sites and applications. The API can search address and point of interest data sourced from content partners. Developers can also overlay their own searchable content onto the map. MapSearch Engine is “white label”, allowing customers to unitize their own UI, branding and content. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML, JSON, JSONP and XHTML.

- Programmable Web

Bonus: 40 real estate APIs

- +skipcody

New Geo APIs - 2/14/12

Read all the way to the end - there's a bonus!

nowCOAST LayerInfo API: nowCOAST is a GIS-based online mapping tool that provides access to real-time coastal environmental observations and NOAA forecasts for any region in the coastal United States. nowCOAST's LayerInfo API provides access to additional useful information on mapping layers, including Legends, Timestamps, Icons, and Layer Descriptions. The API uses HTTP calls and responses are formatted in XML, HTML and TXT.

Aviresto API: Aviresto is a guide to restaurants in France. The site lets users read and submit customer reviews. Searches can be conducted by city or by location on a map. An API is available that allows users to conduct these searches programmatically and pull the results into their own application or web site. Public documentation of the API is not available; developers should contact the provider for access.

NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising API: NAVTEQ is a provider for digital maps and map content used in navigation and location-based services. The NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D) program provides developers with a variety of API's for mapping, road traffic data, and advertising.

The NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising (LPA) service is an in-application mobile advertising service that provides location-based, targeted advertising to users of location aware applications and mobile websites. This API will gather location data and identify users, and then request relevant adds to return to the device. The LPA web service also exposes functions for handling the end-user experience after they have interacted with a LPA-powered add; for example, providing the user with maps and routes to physical stores related to an add they clicked through.

NAVTEQ Map Reporter API: NAVTEQ is a provider for digital maps and map content used in navigation and location-based services. The NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D) program provides developers with a variety of API's for mapping, road traffic data, and advertising.

NAVTEQ's Map Reporter allows individuals to suggest updates or corrections to NAVTEQ maps. Users can give feedback about addresses, roads or road features, points of interest, or traffic restrictions. Attachments, such as images or supporting evidence, can also be added to the submission. In addition to submitting feedback on existing map elements, users can suggest new map content such as other points of interest or cartography details. The Map Reporter web service is composed of two primary parts: a submission service that allows users to provide their feedback to NAVTEQ, and a query service for searching map reports for the status and details of previously submitted requests.

- Programmable Web

Bonus: StreetFight offers Comparing the Pros and Cons of 5 Top Location APIs which looks at contenders to fill in for recently closed SimpleGeo. Warning: written by an intern.