Tele Atlas ramps up community input in new map release

New road geometry based on user input Digital map maker Tele Atlas introduced today a new version of its worldwide map database (MultiNet 2009.06), for which the company is increasingly using community input.

Since its acquisition by TomTom, the Belgian map maker is using TomTom’s navigation users to generate both passive (anonymous GPS measurements) and active (Map Share technology) map edits. This time Tele Atlas is seriously ramping up its map production based on these in adding 18,000 kilometers of new road geometry to its existing Romanian map (12,000 kms) based on GPS measurements.

In addition, the new database also realizes 500,000 edits sourced from community input from more than 30 countries across five features, including one-way traffic flow identified via Map Share technology, one-way traffic flow detected by GPS measurements, the change of a crossing to a roundabout, road gradient measurements and new road geometry.

“By validating and adding contributions from individual drivers as an additional source, Tele Atlas is able to increase the total number of changes identified by its network, particularly in geographically dispersed and rural areas covered less frequently by other data sources,” said the company in a press release today.

In total Tele Atlas has increased the volume of community input changes tenfold compared to the Fourth quarter of 2008.