Ordnance Survey (OS) was founded in 1791, the result of a military survey requirement, with a public service ethos, traditional craft skills and high quality cartographic products. It has developed into an organisation of some 1800 staff in its Southampton, UK headquarters and 80 or so field offices, responsible for updating 232,000 maps and a national topographic database over 200 million individual features from which other spatial products are derived.
From its military survey beginnings in the last 15 years OS has completely re-organised. It is responsible for making Britain, probably one of the best-mapped countries in the world with the most frequently updated, most detailed and most consistent mapping. All large scales mapping is completely digitised, from which many new, market orientated products are derived. Data capture is largely by GPS controlled air survey and ground completion survey using PRISM (Portable Revision and Integrated Survey Module). Service Level Agreements have been secured with many organisations including local authorities, utility companies, Scottish Office and the Office of National Statistics for example.
OS is an active member of several international bodies including MEGRIN and the Open GIS Consortium.
OS has recently established its key business objectives for the new millennium with the aim of maximising the benefits from our activities for Britain by maximising the utilisation of our data.
To provide a unique national referencing system for geospatial information relating to Great Britain based on the OS national GPS network and a unique digital identifier for every significant feature in the landscape. This will allow the association of other information with landscape features, and the applications based upon those associations, to be more easily developed and to be more readily exchanged electronically, in a consistent manner.
To capture and maintain an authoritative definition of the topographic features of the landscape, both natural and man made through: the continued update of our topographic databases, a review of our capture specification to reflect our customers needs, a structured programme of quality improvement, improved intelligence on future relevant change and an increased proportion of revised topographic detail from external sources.
To facilitate the association of selected non-topographic attributes and other non-topographic geospatial information with this topographic information. We aim to: set terms and conditions which encourage and facilitate the association of any geographic information, establish effective mutually beneficial relationships with third parties to supply information.
To make this information (the national referencing system, definition of topographic features of the landscape, associated non-topographic information) available in an affordable and usable manner to as wide a range of users as possible, but leave to them exactly how they use it.
For OS, as a position dependent information supplier and distributor, realisation of these objectives in future will mean:
Data will primarily be distributed electronically, either: direct to users, or through licensed partners who add value
Information about geographic information will be provided through a metadata service as part of the National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF). Through the NGDF metadata gateway, customers will be able to browse our datasets
Much more of our business, service provision and product and data supply will be through the internet
Available data will have increased granularity, offering customers thematic or spatial options
OS will satisfy the data format requirements of a wide range of users
In the above context we anticipate a broadening of delivery mechanisms, service provision and product options to our existing customer base but also the greater utilisation of our data by new markets through our efforts to maximise the utilisation of our data. The rapid developments in digital TV and mobile computing are of growing interest to OS given their potential for making our data more pervasive, through the development of new applications and potentially, new markets.
We identify several application “groups” for position dependent data in mobile computing:
Graphic display of intelligent mapping and networks on mobile devices for vehicle navigation, fleet management, and leisure use for example
Resulting textual display of spatial queries (for example, the location of pizza restaurants within a 3-mile radius of your location) where the results of the spatial analysis are not displayed graphically. These will often be associated with a list of textual directions
Mobile devices used for the capture of position dependant information (developments of the PRISM device used by OS)
The use of position dependent information on mobile devices for monitoring and control systems. For example; the use of GPS and speed restriction information along a network to control vehicle speeds.
The ability to associate other information in a position dependent context with any of the above groups
The main objectives of OS in attending the Forum are:
To better understand the scope and requirement for position dependent information in a mobile computing context
To ensure that our data is in a form that satisfies the requirements of this “domain”
To ensure that the data format requirements are clearly understood
To identify and develop contacts with the main players in this field
Research Manager
Phone: (+44) 023 80 792878
Fax: (+44) 023 80 792078
E-mail: cparker@ordsvy.gov.uk
Web site: www.ordsvy.gov.uk