Tele Atlas North America Inc. launched a new turn-by-turn capable map database that combines significantly improved accuracy and coverage with the only direct traffic-linked map and real-time traffic feed. The result is the industry's most powerful North American map database for driving a range of automobile navigation and telematics applications, location-based services (LBS), and intelligent transportation systems.
In the initial release of the new Tele Atlas North American database, 56 percent of the U.S. population is covered in a fully attributed, turn-by-turn capable format. Tele Atlas has 100 percent street network coverage, including image-attributed road miles for 80 percent of the U.S. population, so that virtually all roads covered will have a better representation of real world geometry, connectivity, and positional accuracy. With this data, navigation/telematics and LBS developers can confidently build powerful and reliable route calculation applications.
The map database also offers superior geocoding covering more than 120 million addresses with more than 45 million address ranges. This content enables highly accurate and comprehensive location of origin, destination, and points of interest addresses.
Tele Atlas' North American database offering also provides superior geometrical and positional accuracy, helping improve the performance of GPS-based applications. Tele Atlas' information exceeds the National Map Accuracy Standard of 12 meters or better for more than 80 percent of the U.S. population, with the majority of observations within 5-to-7 meter accuracy. In terms of geometrical accuracy, the database provides features that are topologically correct with proper connectivity. Careful attention is paid to make the attributes of these features (road names, road classes, turn restrictions, signposts, etc.) as correct as possible.
Tele Atlas' latest product is a true North American solution. Nearly
7.3 million miles of U.S. and Canadian (through an alliance with DMTI
Spatial) roads are covered resulting in a seamless North American database
with contiguous routing from door-to-door and coast-to-coast, within the
U.S., and between the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, coverage areas can be
customized for particular customer products.
Real-time Traffic Data
With the release of the Tele Atlas database, the
navigation/telematics market now has access to an industry first: the only
direct traffic-linked map as well as a real-time traffic feed provided
through the company's strategic alliance with Westwood One, the single
largest traffic gathering and reporting operation in the world. Tele Atlas
and Westwood One deliver real-time traffic information in the U.S. for 92
markets and 98 percent of the population in the most congested metro areas.
This database release represents the world's most comprehensive traffic
delivery solution for the U.S., containing nearly 350,000 traffic reporting
locations linked directly to the Tele Atlas map database to enable
real-time traffic or other content delivery. Consequently, Tele Atlas
makes it not only possible, but practical for navigation/telematics
suppliers to build systems with dynamic re-routing capabilities that
respond to traffic situations on arterial roads and freeway exit ramps as
well as on freeways themselves.
The Tele Atlas North American map database is presently available for evaluation with production shipments scheduled for January 2003.