CloudMade, the professional service around OpenStreetMap, is offering a pre-alpha web and mobile maps API to developers.
The interesting thing about the CloudMade API is easy access to OpenStreetMap data. Compared to commercial map data used in other APIs, like TeleAtlas or NAVTEQ maps, OpenStreetMap shows addtional features like footpaths, bike lanes or tramway tracks in urban areas. Not a crucial feature, right, but here OpenStreetMap is closer to traditional city maps, maps made for pedestrians, than others are. it’s surely an interesting aspect for providing tourism or travel mapping services. Nokia maps go into that direction too and provide special features like pedestrians navigation for instance.
Another point for OpenStreetMap is its appealing cartography. Since it’s possible to export and download OpenStreetMap as vector data, I wonder if the CloudMade API provides methods for manipulating and customizing visual attributes of the map, like colors or stroke widths. That would really make a difference compared to other mapping APIs. Service providers or developers could almost draw their own maps, make their mapping service visually different from others or just highlight map elements they want to emphasize.
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Thanks to the export feature of OpenStreetMap’s web interface, I started using it as background map on my GPS device. A lot of places are still missing, some places aren’t as accurate as in other maps, but it’s pretty easy to cut a map slice out of OpenStreetMap’s web interface and load it onto a GPS device (instructions). [via Nick]
These are very exciting news: CloudMade, a commercial service based on the collaborative mapping project OpenStreetMap, got funded and now they announced “a year of mapping”, an open call for ideas to improve OpenStreetMap.
The grants (£100 – £1000+) are probably aimed to enthusiats rather than companies, but they will make life for everyone involved in OSM easier and help to spread the project. Application sounds very easy and uncomplicated:
To apply, email grants@cloudmade.com
Congratulations to CoudMade & OSM!
Published on
November 27, 2007 in
Geomensch.
Tags: Collaborative, Crowdsourcing, Free, Geodata, GPS, Map, Mapping, OpenStreetMap, Vienna, Yahoo!.
I totally missed that it’s allowed in OpenStreetMap to derive vector data from aerial imagery provided by Yahoo! Maps. Apparently already since December 2006.
Last weekend, when we checked Vienna on OSM, we started wondering how come that it’s suddenly so rich on details. Did we miss a local GPS boom or mapping party?
The last time, it was summer, I collected and edited some tracks in my neighborhood for OSM, Vienna was poorly covered. Some major roads showed up and only a few neighborhoods were mapped more detailed (including parks, cemeteries or water areas for instance).
I didn’t know then that I can actually use the aerial imagery to refine my tracks and relied on the data my GPS unit returned. Reception and therefore accuracy in dense urban areas and narrow streets isn’t the best as you can imagine. Some of my tracks were way off and it was quite a hassle to put them in JOSM to a valid street network together.
However, the boost the Yahoo! aerial imagery gave OSM is impressive. Most parts of the central Viennese districts are already well covered. No wonder, it’s very easy to edit without the need of previously generated GPS tracks, directly via the browser interface.
High resolution aerial imagery + collaborative mapping tools = the real public geodata!
(With some help of the good old Gründerzeit raster, which makes mapping this city pretty straightforward I guess)
According to this press release the dutch navigation solution provider TomTom is bidding for Tele Atlas, a global digital mapping company and major data supplier for navigational devices.
What’s next?
TomTom competitors ban Tele Atlas, Garmin acquires Navteq and Openstreetmap fills the gap?
