It’s no secret that Google and Apple have long been the dominant players in the mapping world, thanks in part due to the extensive resources required to map cities and remote areas. However, last year, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and TomTom came together to form the Overture Maps Foundation to challenge the duopoly of Google and Apple. Now, as part of these efforts, the group has finally unveiled its first open map dataset, empowering third-party developers to create their mapping products without having to spend significant resources.
Primary objective
Overture Maps Foundation says the primary driving force behind this collaboration is the significant amount of time and resources needed to develop mapping data. Therefore, by pooling their expertise and resources, the participating companies aim to equip developers with the necessary tools and data to craft innovative global mapping and navigation services.
According to the group, they have successfully captured a database of over 59 million “points of interest,” including restaurants, landmarks, streets, and regional boundaries. Moreover, this data will be available for free, serving as a base layer for creating new map applications.
“The Places dataset, in particular, represents a major, previously unavailable open dataset, with the potential to map everything from new businesses big and small to pop-up street markets located anywhere in the world,” said Marc Prioleau, Overture’s executive director.
Why not use Google’s solution?
Although Google does offer its mapping services to other companies, it comes with a significant fee based on the number of times an app accesses the map, which makes it an unviable option for small companies and businesses. Additionally, the lack of access to the underlying data poses major restrictions.
Overture aims to solve this problem by providing the underlying map data, allowing companies more flexibility to develop their map-based solutions and tailor them to their specific requirements.
Challenges ahead
While this new development is a significant step forward in open map development, one of the biggest challenges is keeping the data up to date, considering the ever-changing nature of businesses and roads. However, Overture has acknowledged these concerns and is actively encouraging its members to continuously contribute real-time information. Moreover, the group is also exploring the use of AI to automate and streamline the data updating process.