This past January, Club TomTom posted a call for map-related questions. We had a great response from readers who had questions for Tele Atlas, one of TomTom’s map data providers.

Click on through to read the interview with Tele Atlas’s Consumer Markets Director Joy Morel. Apologies to those whose questions weren’t directly answered. We had a big response to this post and a lot of your questions were similar and we had to blend them to save space.

1. I am a sailor and hiker and I would like to see nautical & off road terrain maps available for download on TomTom. Is this ever going to be made available?

TomTom can answer this question. Our core navigation focus has always been on the automobile and motorcycle market. Penetration of portable navigation devices in cars is still only at 5-6% so there is still tremendous growth potential in these markets. Nautical and off-road terrain maps are not something that we offer with our products at this time; however it might be something we explore in the future.

2. QUESTIONS ABOUT MAP AVAILABILITY
a. Can you provide any details about a technology called incremental updating? Is this something that you may be able to provide to companies such as TomTom and if so, when might end users be able to take advantage of this?
b. How often does Tele Atlas come out with a new update and does TomTom automatically update their systems with these updates?

Incremental updates can refer to single or specific updates to the map database – which could range from updating the street number of a building or house to adding a new exit on a major highway. Currently, TomTom obtains updates on a regular quarterly basis – and to this end, they incorporate the maps into their devices and make the current maps available online for users to download as well – ensuring users like you have the most updated maps as possible.

We are committed to innovation and are regularly incorporating new enhancements to our maps to ensure we are best meeting the needs of today’s consumers, who are seeking the information that most accurately reflects the world around them – so this is certainly something the industry may evolve to offer in the future.

3. The last update for TomTom was big and the new maps are hyper accurate but they took so long to release. Was there some sort of programming or production delay that prevented the release of these new maps? Are the new maps available for Canada too?

The TomTom maps released in December are based on Tele Atlas database released in the last quarter of 2006. This version of our global digital map database was a major release that combined the power of our field collection and remote sourcing technologies into a single solution, which also marked the culmination of the biggest update to the North American map in the history of digital map making.

A few of the updates now in the maps you see include: a 6.9% increase in U.S. household and a 9.4% increase in Canadian household address match rate; a 10.4% increase in North American business address match rate; a 46 % increase in city centers and a 25.2% increase in points of interest (POIs) in Canada. As we continue to invest in driving and mapping North America, you will continue to see updates.

We believe our map database features the freshest, richest and most accurate digital map of North America ever produced and that future versions of the database will continue to deliver this high standard of quality.

4. So, how does Tele Atlas build its maps?

To develop our database, we use information from a network of over 50,000 authoritative resources. Our process combines drivers and a resource network to ensure that what goes into our map is fully verified and accurate, with every mile we drive backed up by multiple sources. Our network includes thousands of resources – everything from satellite and aerial imagery, public data sources and filings, tax maps, web crawler tools, government sources, input from utility, fleet and postal drivers – to help confirm and double check where changes are taking place, or are planned.

In the field, we use traditional cars and local data collectors, but we’ve also improved the way drivers collect information with our mobile mapping vans. Our vans can collect information traveling at posted speed limits and as such are much faster than traditional cars; they can take pictures of things along the way, such as signs and building facades, so that we can directly see changes on them or verify information in them. They also obtain real-world information, such as road slope and turn angles for safely features.

Tele Atlas’ unique approach to updating maps also works to detect changes that are planned for the future, well ahead of when a driver could, such as a new housing site in development or highway project that may be approved by a government planning board but not yet under construction.

Now, our consumer reporting system helps us capture even more change, and enhance the experience of consumers using our partners’ products.

5.
a. My development was built four years ago and STILL doesn’t show up on my maps. Care to comment?
b. Why are older versions of maps sometimes more correct than more recently updated maps?

Because the world changes constantly, no one can claim a database that is perfect. Unfortunately, this does mean there will be addresses and locations not represented in our database. Today, we feature our live map data online – through Map Insight (http://www.teleatlas.com/MapInsight/index.htm). Here, users can directly report feedback on the maps for our review to help show us where we need to research, analyze and make changes if necessary. Via Map Insight – you can also see what data we currently have in the database – sometimes updates have been made but have not yet been incorporated into the version of the map you see on your device. If you haven’t yet reported this to us directly, I hope you’ll take a moment to submit a report via Map Insight.

6. Will you ever release maps that are “self editable”?

This is a great question – as the world around us is evolving, we’re all much more aware of and interested in providing input into innovation processes in a more spontaneous, real-time and participatory way – something we are certainly seeing among the map community through the evolution of digital communities, social networking, Web 2.0, wiki-maps and even mash-ups.

Our Map Insight program evolved alongside the trend of social computing and the emergence of the Internet as a collaborative medium. It is a natural outgrowth of Tele Atlas’ internal tools and capabilities for delivering superior products, including the use of professional drivers, proprietary mobile mapping van technology, and over 50,000 authoritative information resources. But since we validate accuracy of the reports entered by users through our processes, we are able to ensure the quality of our maps.

The next generation of maps may involve a component of self-editing on the individual level – so you can customize the maps you use to best suit your needs.

7.
a. I submitted feedback via your Map Insight program but my change didn’t appear on your most recent maps. How long does it take for a change submitted through your website to be released to maps? Does a particular mapping change have to be submitted by a number of people for you to recognize it?
b. How long does it take for changes in the Map Insight to be seen in new updates?

It’s exciting to see so much interest in Map Insight. Thank you for submitting your feedback via Map Insight!

First, users like you submit reports to Map Insight and these reports go through extensive quality control checks to ensure only the most accurate reports are captured and expedited into Tele Atlas systems. In terms of timing and how we recognize user reports we receive – all submitted reports are prioritized based on several criteria including severity, road class and population of the affected area. For example, we receive thousands of reports each month for review, so we may need to review an item involving a highly-travelled major highway before we would review the renaming of a residential street.

We have a thorough process during which we accurately research, analyze and resolve issues in the source data before they are committed to the Tele Atlas’ database. Once we have verified and added a change to the database, we provide finalized changes to our partners, who then incorporate them within their devices and applications. That’s the reason why, while we may have already made a change in the Tele Atlas database, you might not always see it immediately on your map.

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