The Overture Maps Foundation, for an open alternative to Google Maps and to make it easier to create viable apps based on mapping and geolocation.
A first open dataset has been made available by the Overture Maps Foundation, an organization established by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom with the goal of assisting developers in creating mapping applications and other geolocation-based products. The 59 million locations, 780 million structures, OpenStreetMap roads, and border data are all included in this "alpha" collection.
Overture Maps Foundation, for an open alternative to Google Maps
The card layers are assembled in an Overture format recently launched, designed and designed to be a standard and interoperable. The group shares this data at this stage not for finished products, but to get feedback from users.
The foundation was established in December of last year by a variety of businesses, including internet behemoths and geospatial and mapping firms. While open mapping data is nothing new, Overture believes that such an initiative is necessary to provide accurate and up-to-date information, something no organization can do easily today. Ideally, a newcomer should not have to worry about providing directions that are incomplete or out of date.
And to make it easier to create viable apps based on mapping and geolocation
Overture also recalls that there is still much work to be done before this project is fully viable. Future releases will include more open data, greater interoperability, and the use of a stable ID system that will help designers add content. The general public should not see apps based on this alpha dataset for some time, if ever there is one, but it is a starting point that should give app developers a sense of what is possible.
Historically, Google has always dominated the mobile browsing apps market, with Google Maps and Waze together, boasting the vast majority of usage in recent years. Apple Plans, on the other hand, recovers the remaining share. There’s really not a lot of room for others, and it would take a lot of resources to be competitive in that market. Overture’s open data could make it easier to create viable alternatives, even if it is very unlikely that anyone will soon dethrone Google or Apple.
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