Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom have collaborated to release an open map dataset aiming at offering free geographical data to app developers and undermining Google and Apple Maps’ duopoly.
The Overture Maps Foundation, founded by the four companies in December of last year, is a collaborative endeavour to create complete and accurate open map data that anybody may access for free. It has subsequently grown to include numerous more contributing members, including Sparkgeo, Cyient, InfraMappa, and PTV Group.
The Overture Maps Foundation noted in a blog post, “The partnership is built on the notion that map data needs to be a common asset to facilitate future applications.” “As the requirements for map accuracy, recency, and attribution have expanded to match user desires, the costs and complexities of collecting and maintaining global map data have grown beyond any single organization’s competence.”
On Wednesday, the foundation released its first open map dataset, which includes four different data layers: Places of Interest, Buildings, Transportation Network, and Administrative Boundary. The dataset was created by compiling, verifying, and validating open source map data, as well as data collected and supplied by Overture Maps Foundation members.
“The Overture 2023-07-26-alpha.0 release is a key step towards developing a comprehensive, market-grade open map dataset for our constantly changing world,” stated Marc Prioleau, executive director of the Overture Maps Foundation. “The Locations dataset, in particular, represents a significant, hitherto untapped open dataset, with the potential to map everything from new enterprises large and small to pop-up street markets anywhere in the world.”
The Locations dataset has approximately 59 million records and was created using data from Meta and Microsoft. The Overture Maps Foundation wants to update and maintain the collection with data “from all available resources,” including publicly available government data and crowdsourcing mapping information. The organisation has also stated that it regards artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms as resources.
Of course, the initial publication from the Overture Maps Foundation is far from comprehensive. For example, the Locations map data currently looks to show a large empty expanse where Russia should be. It is, however, a step towards lessening the cost of developing apps that rely on map data and providing developers with additional options. Google and Apple both charge developers for access to their Maps API application programming interfaces, with Apple demanding a $99 annual subscription to its Apple Developer Program as a minimum.