The Overture Maps Foundation — a joint effort from Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom — to provide open map data — has announced a beta of its global map dataset.
The dataset includes five base layers of data:
- Data on almost 54 million places of interest around the world
- 2.3 billion building footprints
- Information on transportation infrastructure, such as roads, footpaths, and more
- Nation and regional administrative boundaries, including names that have been translated into 40 languages
- A base layer including land and water data
The foundation has created this dataset based on several different open map data sources, such as OpenStreetMap, satellite/aerial imagery, government data, and open commercial data sources.
PODCAST: Overture Maps Foundation is on a mission to provide reliable open map data
Interested developers can begin using the map data and schema and provide feedback on it during this period to help prepare the dataset for general availability, which is expected later this summer.
The foundation says that the dataset is mostly stable at this point and only incremental changes are expected for the general availability release.
“This is a significant step forward for open map data by delivering data that is ready to be used in applications,” said Marc Prioleau, executive director of Overture Maps Foundation. “It also lays the path for future improvements and expansion of the dataset. Our member companies have already begun to use Overture and we look forward to many more users and feedback so we can quickly get to production and deliver a comprehensive, market-grade open map dataset.”