Case studies

It's a developers dream - a compelling and useful application from concept to working pilot in a matter of a few weeks.

It seems unlikely - but it's exactly what Yeoman Mobile Navigation has achieved by using Ordnance Survey data from the highly flexible Integrated Transport NetworkTM (ITN™) Layer of OS MasterMap™ to power a new pilot version of its established TravelM8TM service.

The application

TravelM8 is a personal traffic and travel service delivering timely and accurate information by voice to any mobile phone. The ITN powered application is delivered through a GSM handset. The user phones a call centre to give details of the start and end points of their journey.

Yeoman's servers process this request to calculate the optimum route by combining address, topographic and integrated transport network data from OS MasterMap, current and forecasted traffic information and points of interest information.

This route is delivered in seconds to the handset in the form of an MMS containing journey information, text instructions, maps and a traffic report. On route, alerts will be sent by SMS if new traffic problems arise.

On arrival at their destination, the user can view a highly detailed address level map, generated by OS MasterMap data. This map will show the outline of the actual building the user has identified as their destination. The detail and intelligence of the Integrated Transport Network data, coupled with flexible and robust software engines of Yeoman, provide an excellent framework for the development of advanced mobile navigation.

Yeoman recognised the potential enhancements that the Integrated Transport Network data could bring to TravelM8 as Dan Ormsby, Product Manager at Yeoman, explains: "The idea was very much to show how robust and flexible our architecture is and to demonstrate how quickly we could integrate OS MasterMap data in to this mix. Having successfully achieved this, the possibilities that this type of intelligent and detailed data brings are very exciting."

Additional functionality in the application is provided by Laser-Scan’s Radius Topology product which automatically corrects errors in an existing dataset when topologically structured against the ITN Layer data.

Snowflake’s GO Loader software loads the data into the TravelM8 and Radius Topology servers.
Ian Painter, Managing Director of Snowflake, says: "Because the ITN data contains so many feature references between road links, junctions, drive restrictions and topographic features it is essential to have a good database model to be able to make use of this very powerful new product. Because GO Loader provides high productivity data modelling as well as data translation we were able to really exploit the dataset from day one."

"The accuracy, detail and flexibility of this opens up a whole new range of opportunities for location based services," says Marc Hobell, Marketing Manager of the ITN Layer of OS MasterMap. "It provides a comprehensive baseline from which we can work with partners and other players in the value chain to bring tangible service benefits to consumers. With all the layers of OS MasterMap’s data, including Imagery, underpinning these solutions, we hope that the ability for the user to zoom in to a level of detail they have not experienced before will prove to be compelling."

The benefits

For application providers:

• The Yeoman solution demonstrates how with the right expertise the ITN Layer data set can be integrated into standard architecture and how it can mesh seamlessly with other data sets such as real time traffic to provide value added applications.
• The detail, accuracy and currency of the OS MasterMap data can add real value to any application.
• Snowflake’s GO loader software ensures that development timescales are kept to an unprecedented minimum.

For networks:

• This solution demonstrates how unique services can be delivered by using the high quality data from Ordnance Survey.
• The flexibility of the data set means that customised solutions can be built in a short time frame.
• The MMS delivery has the potential to open up additional revenue streams.

For users:

• Users have the confidence that their application is underpinned by the most accurate, up-to-date and detailed geographic information available.
• The detail offered by OS MasterMap goes well beyond the standard street level mapping that is currently available, to show the outline of the actual building the user is navigating to.

The scope

Applications can be developed with real time GPS navigation, off route warning/rerouting, voice instructions, toll charge payment and with routes designed to best suit the user’s vehicle.

Delivery and interface can be with any client channel or device, from voice, SMS and MMS through to WAP, PDA, e-mail, Web and machine to machine via XML.

The possibilities are endless, and bearing in mind this application took a mere four weeks to develop, they could be on the way very soon.

The partners

Ordnance Survey

Britain’s national mapping agency creates and maintains OS MasterMapTM, a geographical database of the whole of Great Britain, updated up to 5,000 times daily. This database contains intelligent and interfacing topographic and address data, imagery and the newly launched Integrated Transport Network data. This pioneering and far-reaching resource includes some 440 million features, each identified by a unique number, allowing for data association. This data is supplied in GML 2.1.2, a geographic derivative of XML.

Yeoman Mobile Navigation

Yeoman Mobile Navigation is Europe’s most advanced provider of personal traffic and travel services. Yeoman’s TravelM8 server architecture integrates real time traffic information with a highly dynamic routing engine to deliver flexible products and services to mobile devices. Such services include GPS based navigation, journey specific traffic alerts, drive time estimates, traffic maps and detailed destination maps. Delivered by voice, MMS / SMS, WAP, web, PDA or XML, Yeoman’s fully hosted server system supports a broad range of products, which all benefit from the unrivalled detail of OS MasterMap data.

Laser-Scan

Using its Radius Topology product Laser-Scan delivers accurate structuring of existing datasets. Radius Topology automatically corrects errors in an existing dataset when that dataset is topologically structured against OS MasterMap ITN Layer data.

Snowflake

Geospatial data experts, Snowflake, provide the software - GO Loader - that enables the seamless transference of any GML 2 compliant data formats into Oracle Spatial and Locator databases.