Overture Maps Foundation charts open maps datasets
The Overture Maps Foundation is described as a “collaborative effort” to enable current and next-generation interoperable open map services and products.
The organisation has now announced the general availability (GA) of several of its global open maps datasets.
The intention is to pave the way for new and expanded use cases for commercial mapping applications and geospatial analysis.
Mapping service and application providers can use Overture’s open data for various uses including visual maps and spatial analysis.
Documented schema
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 catalogue of linked data.
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.
“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.”
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 of 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.”
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.
The organisation insists that Overture data is sourced from the “best open map data sources” and conflated into a single dataset.
Four world map themes
The GA release includes four themes, some of which are already informing use cases:
- Buildings. Includes 2.3 billion unique building footprints worldwide.
- Places of Interest. Offers data on nearly 54 million places worldwide, but will expand as new data is added.
- 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 – users can look forward to improvements such as more detailed and accurate data from aerial imagery, clearer road routes with recognisable highway signs, rail and ferry route data and better handling of complex traffic rules and restrictions.
