Microsoft, Meta and Amazon join hands to take on Google in mapping space, here’s how – Times of India
The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has announced that it is partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Meta, Microsoft, and Netherlands-based creator of location technology TomTom to develop open map data “as a shared asset that can strengthen mapping services worldwide.”
Interestingly, the group doesn’t include Google, the company that has pioneered mapping technology and its Google Maps is one of the go-to apps for navigation. The Linux Foundation says that the group’s mission is to enable “current and next-generation map products by creating reliable, easy-to-use, and interoperable open map data.”
The companies, together referred to as Overture Maps Foundation, will contribute their own data and combine resources to build map data that will be open and extensible by all under an open data licence. “This will drive innovation by enabling a network of communities that create services on top of Overture data,” the organisation said.
Interestingly, the group doesn’t include Google, the company that has pioneered mapping technology and its Google Maps is one of the go-to apps for navigation. The Linux Foundation says that the group’s mission is to enable “current and next-generation map products by creating reliable, easy-to-use, and interoperable open map data.”
The companies, together referred to as Overture Maps Foundation, will contribute their own data and combine resources to build map data that will be open and extensible by all under an open data licence. “This will drive innovation by enabling a network of communities that create services on top of Overture data,” the organisation said.
How will the Overture Maps Foundation work
- Collaborative Map Building: Overture aims to incorporate data from multiple sources, including member companies, civic organisations, and open data sources.
- Global Entity Reference System: The group will then simplify interoperability with a system that links entities from different data sets to the same real-world entities.
- Quality Assurance Processes: Overture data will undergo validation to detect map errors, breakage, and vandalism to help ensure that map data can be used in production systems.
- Structured Data Schema: Overture will drive adoption of a common, structured, and documented data schema to create an ecosystem of map data.
New members invited
Overture says that it aims to expand membership and contributors to include a wide range of data inputs to improve map data. It also expects to release its first datasets in the first half of 2023.
“Initially, this release will include basic layers including buildings, road, and administrative information. To support next-generation map products, Overture will steadily improve the coverage, resolution and accuracy of existing data, as well as introduce new layers such as places, routing or 3D building data,” the Linux Foundation said in a blog post.
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