deCarta Launches OSM Beta Program

deCarta, which supplies software and services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, has announced the launch of its beta program supporting OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. The beta program makes the OSM content available for selected cities around the world. A product release that will support the complete coverage of OSM is scheduled for October 2009.
In keeping with the spirit of the OpenStreetMap community, OSM data in deCarta format will be free of charge. deCarta plans to make the product available for both server and client-side solutions to its customers .This includes self-hosted solutions using deCartas Drill Down Server, deCartas hosted web services, personal vavigation devices, and mobiles. Developers will also be able to quickly prototype and demonstrate location-enabled applications using OSM content through deCartas Developer Zone available to developers via the deCarta website.
deCarta says the initial product release is aimed at developers who want to develop map display, vehicle tracking, high-level routing anf pedestrian navigation applications. Future releases will include support for local search and turn-by-turn navigation, based on availability and applicability of the OSM content. In addition, deCarta says it will expand geographic coverage and depth of features, as the OSM data continues to expand and mature.
OSM has seen explosive growth since its launch in 2004. According to the OSM website, within last 12 months, the number of registered users has more than tripled from approximately 50,000 to over 160,000. In the same period, the total number of GPS track points uploaded by users has gown to just over a million. The data has over 23 million kilometers of road length, making it the largest public domain mapping database.
deCarta notes that its OEM platform technology has powered some of the worlds largest LBS Internet and mobile services, often where broad and varied geographic coverage has been necessary. deCartas customers can customize and brand their own map styles and services using the companys development tools and data architecture; and only need to write their application once, even though multiple map content sources may be being used simultaneously.
Anyone interested in accessing OSM content in deCartas format should contact: sales@decarta.com