All Your Routes, All Your Adventures Mapped with OS MapFinder

Ordnance Survey has launched the organisation’s first official mobile app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. OS MapFinder, is an ideal iOS app for outdoor enthusiasts or anyone participating in in outdoor activities; is free to download and includes free overview mapping for the whole of Great Britain. Once downloaded OS MapFinder allows users to purchase and download more detailed map data for outdoor use.

Ordnance Survey maintains Great Britain’s definitive digital mapping database and OS MapFinder brings all the detail and accuracy of the iconic and trusted Ordnance Survey paper maps to iOS devices. 

A unique feature of the fast and easy to use app is the tile download facility, which provides users with, the ultimate freedom to choose the maps they want. Sections of mapping are purchased in single 10 km by 10 km tiles with prices from just 69p and the image brings Ordnance Survey’s recognised print quality to iOS devices using 660 dpi. This means that on devices with retina display, the images appear sharp and clear.

All maps are cached on the device, meaning they can be used even without a WiFi or mobile signal, improving reliability and the experience of using the maps outdoors. Users can search for locations by place name, postcode, Ordnance Survey Grid reference and then seamlessly zoom across the range of maps to get a range of perspectives. Having selected their map of choice, OS MapFinder also allows users to record or draw their walking, cycling or running routes. Routes can be saved on the device to be reviewed or repeated at a later date and can be personalised with photographs. 

Peter ter Haar, Director of Products said: “Ordnance Survey prides itself on generating accurate and up-to-date mapping data. Customers have been asking us to extend the ways they can access our detailed and trusted mapping to meet the demands of today’s digital lifestyle. We are delighted to be launching OS MapFinder to give consumers the most up-to-date mapping from just 69p. Customers will now be able to enjoy the same experience as using a trusted Ordnance Survey paper map when exploring Great Britain on the go, at the touch of a screen.

“OS MapFinder is an extension of our outdoor products with accessibility to our quality mapping in print, online and now on mobile devices.”

The OS MapFinder app will be free to download from iTunes. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/os-mapfinder/id577097874?mt=8

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Tel: 08456 050505

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New Product Updates, Styles and Formats for OS OpenData

Ordnance Survey’s free data portal, OS OpenData, is being upgraded to make it even easier for developers and entrepreneurs to create and customise maps.

The new advances to the popular portal, include the release of a fully maintained height dataset, an enhanced version of OS VectorMap District and a new cartographic styling package. The advances will make OS OpenData products easier, even more accurate and more flexible to use. It will enable users to create and customise different maps and give them more options to display their data.

OS OpenData is an online portal from Ordnance Survey, which was launched in April 2010, providing free and unrestricted access to a large range of mapping datasets.

Under the new upgrade package, which will be implemented by April 2013, users will be able to access a new fully maintained height product called OS Terrain 50. The new product, which has a similar resolution to Land-Form PANORAMA, will enable users to access an advanced product with consistently maintained height content for the whole of Great Britain. Land-Form PANORAMA was an unmaintained product and was last updated in the 1990s. The new product will give users more confidence in the currency of the data and will be supplied in additional formats, making it far more accessible.

Another product being upgraded is OS VectorMap District. The new dataset will replace the current beta version with a fully maintained product release, which will include product updates every six months. Several improvements have been made to the product following user feedback, including an improved cartographic style, new ‘look and feel’ and additional data formats.

OS VectorMap District was launched in 2010 to support OS OpenData, and ever since has been one of the most popular datasets downloaded through the online portal. The new version provides users with new look vector and raster products, providing users with an easier to use and more accessible product.

In addition to the new cartographic styling of OS VectorMap District, two other popular products have been restyled to create a consistent look and feel across all datasets. Both Strategi and Meridian 2 will have a new cartographic style from the New Year to complement OS VectorMap District. It is intended that the developments will significantly enhance the usability of the products and deliver a product portfolio which is consistent through a series of mapping scales. This will provide greater interaction with the maps, whilst maintaining the up-to-date and reliable quality of the data.

In the New Year, Ordnance Survey will also be releasing a set of Styled Layered Descriptors, meaning that users can access, for free, online style sheets for OS OpenData products. The new style sheets will make it easier for users to ‘plug in and play’ and build Ordnance Survey maps into their Intranet web services or GIS.

Peter ter Haar, Director of Products, said: “We’ve been really pleased with the success of  OS OpenData since 2010, and watching Ordnance Survey data being used in new and exciting products, services and applications. This latest upgrade will deliver valuable enhancements to a number of our OS OpenData products.

“All of the upgrades are being implemented to benefit the user, whether they are a business, charity, government user or developer. We want to make sure that OS OpenData is easy to use, accessible in the right formats and available in a consistent style across the product range. The new advances allow users to access world-class mapping data in a format which makes it easy to create and customise maps.”

Ordnance Survey is a member of the Public Data Group and is supporting the drive to explore new innovative ways of making data more freely accessible to users.

Claudia Arney, Chair of the Public Data Group said: "Upgrades to the suite of Ordnance Survey OpenData releases will provide the public and businesses with more accurate, detailed and user-friendly products. This is an early example of the Public Data Group working constructively with the Data Strategy Board to identify open data opportunities which will provide benefits to users."

Further information on the product upgrades will be released when the datasets become available through OS OpenData. Alternatively more information on OS OpenData can be found at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/os-opendata.html

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Ordnance Survey’s New Picture Perfect Maps

Have you ever wanted your face on the cover of an Ordnance Survey map? A new development for the popular Ordnance Survey custom made maps now allows customers to add their favourite image to the front cover of their personalised map.

Based on the popular OS Explorer Map and OS Landranger Maps, custom made maps give the customer the ability to create a bespoke map centred on any chosen location. Since its launch in Spring 2012, thousands of personalised custom made maps have been created centred on home addresses, favourite walks, holiday destinations and other chosen locations across Great Britain.

A range of customisable options are available to the customer. They are able to choose their own title, such as ‘My New Home’, a unique subtitle and were previously able to select an image from a database of pictures to have on the cover.

This latest advance gives customers the option to create a personal map by uploading any image they wish to feature on the map cover. For example they could upload a picture of their house, school photograph, favourite orange tree or even, if it is their dog walking route, a picture of their dog.

Robert Andrews, Head of Communications says: “Since the launch in Spring the custom made maps have been very popular. The new option to upload your own photo is a fantastic addition making these maps truly individual. It is a quick, simple process to upload an image and order. I look forward to seeing people out and about with their personalised map.”

Customers can still choose between the 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 scales which are recognized as the ideal companions to outdoor activities. Custom Made Maps are available as a standard folded map or in a flat map which could be framed or used as a wall hanging. However, personalised photographic covers are only available on folded maps. Either way both make perfect gifts for those wishing to explore or simply enjoy their chosen area in the same quality and detail Ordnance Survey customers have come to love for just £16.99.

These maps are easy to order via www.shop.ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk and are specially printed to order in Ordnance Survey’s thinner, tougher and easier to fold paper. Uploading an image to the front cover is as easy as clicking a button and is an even better way of creating a map which is totally unique and personal to the customer.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Ordnance Survey staff get baking for the Red and White Appeal

The passion for baking that has swept the nation in the last few years has led to a delicious day at Ordnance Survey recently. Inspired by the Great British Bake Off on BBC2, staff got out their mixing bowls and produced endless goodies for categories including a technical bake using a classic scone recipe and glorious sponge cakes both large and small.

The entries were judged by a lucky panel of three who were expertly guided by staff member Elaine Owen who in her spare time is a judge for the British Great Taste Awards. As the final cakes were being tasted and scored a rather hungry lunchtime queue had formed at the doors of the judging room with friends and colleagues happily donating a total of £381.00  to the Red and White appeal collecting tins in return for some really delicious cakes and bakes.

As 1 in 25 of the population will develop a blood disorder in their lifetime, Southampton Hospital Charity’s Red & White Appeal is raising funds for the building of a specialist outpatient treatment centre for patients with leukaemia and other life threatening blood disorders. Southampton General Hospital provides specialist services for haematology patients and is regarded as a ‘centre of excellence’ meaning demand for its specialist services is extremely high.  Ordnance Survey has, to date, raised enough funds to purchase three of six infusion pumps required by this unit to deliver fluids to patients in a controlled manner.

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Geographic data leads the way to better healthcare - 2500 organisations signed up to PSMA

More NHS organisations than ever before are using innovative mapping technologies to help improve local health services.  From reducing obesity in Birmingham to plotting hotspots of low immunisation take up in Essex, Ordnance Survey’s intelligent geographic information is being used in a wide range of settings to inform healthcare decision-making.

Accessing digital maps has never been easier thanks to the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA) – a centrally funded licensing agreement between Government and Ordnance Survey which allows geographic data to be widely available, free at the point of use and shared between all public sector organisations across England and Wales.  

A record 2,500 public sector organisations have now registered for the PSMA, including around 100 hospital trusts, all 12 ambulance trusts and more than two thirds of NHS authorities. With responsibility for public health due to move across to local authorities in April 2013, the availability of open and shared geographical data through the Public sector community is making a real difference to collaborative working and effective health service planning. 

James Brayshaw, Ordnance Survey’s Customer Director, says:

“There are many examples from around the country which provide powerful evidence that geographic information not only helps the NHS do more for less but it helps deliver real improvements to local health services.  With new technologies making mapping and reference data easier to use and the public sector agreement allowing information to be shared between all public sector agencies, we hope that more healthcare organisations will start using Ordnance Survey data to underpin their services and create a real momentum for GIS in the NHS.”

In the Midlands, Birmingham NHS is using Ordnance Survey geographic information to map hot food takeaways near schools in a city wide programme to reduce soaring obesity rates. By overlaying data on to interactive digital maps, public health officials found that 71 per cent of all primary and secondary schools in the city have a hot food takeaway within 400 metres. As a result, the city council has now introduced new rules to control the number of unhealthy fast food outlets located near a school and within local centres.  Several applications have been refused on these grounds already.

“Obesity is a major public health problem in Birmingham.  While the determinants of obesity are complex and inter related, social and environmental factors clearly have an influence.  The city has a large number of hot food takeaways close to schools and local centres. The use of maps helps us to accurately describe where they are located and to tackle their spread,” says Dr Iris Fermin, Head of Public Health Information and Intelligence at Birmingham Public Health.

Other examples of how geographic information is making a big difference in service planning and delivery include:

In North Essex, digital maps are widely used by the local health authority to improve access to services and recently pinpointed low use of immunisation and vaccinations.   The information identified where resources should be targeted more effectively.

In the North East, up-to-date and accurate Ordnance Survey digital mapping is helping call centre staff to quickly and accurately identify the correct locations of incidents as well as supporting the region’s new 111 non emergency service.

For more information and to join the PSMA, visit the public sector section of the Ordnance Survey website at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.