How  Will  Open-­‐source  Mapping  Benefit  the  Naviga:on  and  LBS  Industries?

Randy  MeechHead  of  Engineering,  Local  &  MappingAOL,  Inc.

Navigation Strategies USAJanuary 25, 2011

Topics

AOL  Local  and  OpenStreetMapFrom  Patch  to  MapQuest...

MapQuest’s  OpenStreetMap  investment$1  million  pledged  last  July  to  improve  the  quality  of  U.S.  dataWhat  has  OSM  done  for  MapQuest,  and  vice  versa?

Open  vs.  commercial  dataRoles  for  each  &  our  road  ahead

Launch  some  new  products  &  servicesEven  one  related  to  open  source  naviga:on!

Bring  a  BoTle  of  Wine  to  a  Dinner  Party

Bring  Three  (Launches)

November  2009:  Patch  &  OpenStreetMap

Patch  Benefits  from  OpenStreetMap

BeTer  local  dataA  missing  park  in  a  “hyper-­‐local”  news  site  really  s:cks  out

Community  engagementPatch  has  people  on  the  ground  in  each  community

No  naviga:on  or  search  requirementsJust  for  presenta:on

July  2010:  MapQuest  &  OpenStreetMap

MapQuest  Benefits  from  OpenStreetMap

Fantas:c  new  hires,  re-­‐energized  veteransOSM  has  given  us  an  edge  in  aTrac:ng  &  retaining  top  talent

Renewed  focus  on  developer  servicesMissed  the  first  wave  of  free  developer  APIs

More  data  choicesChoose  the  best  source  for  the  appropriate  applica:on

Interna:onal  launches

OpenStreetMap  Benefits  from  MapQuest

Very  important  to  us  to  contribute  backSensi:ve  to  community  &  corporate  issues,  want  to  help

Sponsored  open-­‐source  developmentFull-­‐:me  and  contract  work  dedicated  to  improving  public  tools

Hosted  services  &  toolsPucng  AOL’s  data  centers  to  work  for  the  community’s  benefit

Sponsored  ini:a:ves

How  did  we  help,  exactly?

Sponsored  Development:  Mapnik

Sponsored  Development:  Nomina:m

Sponsored  Development:  Potlatch  2

Hosted  Services:  OSM  Tiles  &  Style

Hosted  Services:  Open  Direc:ons

from=54.0484067,-­‐2.7990345&to=53.958336,-­‐1.080102

Hosted  Services:  Nomina:m  Search

Query:  [westminster  abbey]

Hosted  Services:  Open  Eleva:on

Hosted  Services...

???

Hosted  Tools:  Potlatch  2

Hosted  Tools:  TIGER-­‐edited  Map

Country-­‐specific  Sites:  Many,  many,  many...

open.mapquest.co.uk

open.mapquest.de

open.mapquest.com

open.mapquest.es

open.mapquest.fropen.mapquest.it

open.mapquest.no

open.mapquest.dk

open.mapquest.se

open.mapquest.co.nz

open.mapquest.in

open.mapquest.be

open.mapquest.at

open.mapquest.nl

open.mapquest.ch

open.mapquest.com.au

open.mapquest.org.mx

open.mapquest.ie

open.mapquest.com.sg

Hired  Hurricane  &  Thea

Sponsored  Work  for  Map  Kibera

Lots  of  Media  ATen:on  for  OSM

Contributed  servers,  beer

Contribu:ons  to  the  OSM  tech  working  groupFunds  for  improved  hardware

Also  beer...

Open  vs.  Commercial  Data

Where  do  you  use  commercial  data?With  all  this  focus  on  open

What  are  the  best  uses  of  both?We  will  make  full  use  of  both

Will  open  data  supersede  commercial  data?A  common  ques:on

Where  MapQuest  uses  Commercial  Data

45  million  unique  visitors  per  monthMy  parents  are  not  interested  in  TIGER  imports  or  using  Potlatch

Naviga:on  in  U.S.  needs  beTer  assurancesSomeone  needs  to  have  driven  the  roads

Search  &  geocoding  also  have  a  way  to  goCommercial  datasets  yield  beTer  results,  although  also  not  perfect

Where  MapQuest  uses  Open  Data

We’re  re-­‐engaging  developers  with  open  servicesFew  restric:ons,  open  data:  big  advantage

Provide  full  set  of  services  on  separate  sitesYou  can  search,  get  direc:ons,  etc.,  on  OSM  dataBut  sites  are  separate  for  now

Will  use  open  data  when  it’s  bestExample:  Walt  Disney  World

Disney  World:  OpenStreetMap

Disney  World:  MapQuest

Disney  World:  Google

Disney  World:  Bing

Disney  World:  OpenStreetMap

Comparing  Open  vs.  Commercial  Data

Open  data  working  clearly  at  Disney  WorldPlaces  people  care  about:  labor  of  love

You  can  find  many  examples  to  the  contraryUsually  involving  boring  stuff  like  highway  interchanges

Improving  data  toolsMakes  it  easier  for  people  to  care  for  their  local  communi:es

Will  Open  Data  Supersede  Commercial?

Someone  needs  to  drive  the  roadsIf  the  open  community  is  driving  all  the  roads,  greatNot  happening  now...

Would  this  mean  the  end  of  commercial  data?Certainly  not  -­‐  stay  ahead,  innovate  &  add  value

MapQuest  understands  being  disruptedData  vendors  should  update  their  strategies  in  advanceEither  by  innova:ng  or  just  embrace  a  cash  cow  strategy

MapQuest  isreinven9ng  itself

Launches

Launch  #1

Make  it  easy  &  free  for  developers  to  use  OSMWithout  secng  up  your  own  stack  or  paying

Uses  MapQuest’s  OSM  :lesPreviously  you  had  to  use  OpenLayers  or  similar

And  other  open  servicesPOI  support,  vehicle  &  bike  rou:ng,  nomina:m  search

Open  JavaScript  SDK

Open  JavaScript  SDK:  Example

Launch  #2

The  best  of  freely  available  aerial  imageryMostly  from  NASA  Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  &  Na:onal  Agriculture  Imagery  Program

Aerial  :les  are  hosted  by  MapQuest  &  free  to  useNot  only  for  tracing  but  in  applica:ons

Quality  not  quite  as  good  as  commercialBut  will  improve  as  imagery  opens  up

Open  Aerial  Tiles

Open  Aerial  Tiles  Example

Launch  #3

Turn-­‐by-­‐turn  guidance  serviceDetails  here:  hTp://open.mapquestapi.com/guidance/

All  on  OpenStreetMap  dataCommercial  vendors  can  be  restric:ve  here

Developers  can  offer  turn-­‐by-­‐turn  voice-­‐guided  apps

Open  Guidance  Service

Open  Guidance  Example

Ques:ons?

Randy  MeechHead  of  Engineering,  Local  &  MappingAOL,  Inc.@randyme  /  randy@patch.com