American map supplier NAVTEQ has recently rebuilt their website from scratch. On this new site they explain how map data is gathered and revised, and there is a webshop for ordering new maps. Another important part of the website is a new tool for reporting missing roads on NAVTEQ maps. The new tool is called MapReporter, and it’s available to every user of NAVTEQ maps. Last summer, competitor Tele Atlas launched a comparable web application called MapInsight.Up-to-date
The suppliers of map data are constantly working on improving the data in their database. New roads and millions of Points of Interest are saved and brought as up-to-date as possible. To achieve this, both NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas need to do their own surveying by driving on motorways, city streets and small country roads. As well as that, both map suppliers also receive data from the government and highway authorities on a regular basis which helps them to keep their maps updated. A third important source for improving maps are the users of the maps themselves.NAVTEQ MapReporter enables users to give feedback on the map data of no less than 54 countries in Europe, North and Central America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. This makes this tool a lot more extensive than Tele Atlas’ MapInsight, which is limited to 23 countries in Europe, the USA and Canada. This is, on the face of it, the biggest difference between the two tools, because both offer the same functionality for searching for a location you want to comment on, and suggesting the desired change.
These adjustments are not limited to passing on information about new roads. It’s also possible to report changes in driving directions, Points of Interest, illegal turns, rights of way and other errors. NAVTEQ also offer the chance to add environmental things to the maps, like rivers, lakes and parks. And last but not least: the user also has the chance to correct the pronunciation of street names if he believes they are not entirely correct.
Half year
Map Reporter and MapInsight both give the impression that users can actively participate in improving the map data. It is, however, not entirely clear if the feedback provided is actually used in new versions of the maps. Usually there is no other way for users to check other than buying new and updated maps for their PND.At best, there’s only six months between providing the feedback and the release of updated maps by TomTom, Garmin, Mio or other PND manufacturers. And we’ve learned by now that NAVTEQ as well as Tele Atlas don’t actually excel at giving responses to users who provide feedback. Lastly, it’s also important to mention that NAVTEQ claims any feedback that is given is checked thoroughly before it’s actually used.
