[gps-talkusers] Strider in the news

Hi,
Thought this would be of interest, article about beta
version of Google maps, from  Telcontar where the senior
vice president Schwegler's ..."early work was on a talking
map for the blind called  Strider. That work, which formed
the basis of the current geospatial platform, evolved, and 
the company created from it was named Telcontar". Strider
also used for the GPS Sendero Group. Interesting how this
moved around. Had a look at the beta version, very fast and
neat.
Regards, 
Lisa

http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=760
   The Technology Behind Google Maps



   Telcontar Inside
   Last week Google quietly rolled out Google Maps. There
was a definite buzz about the technology (DHTML and
JavaScript
   are key parts), the look (very pretty) and the speed
(very fast). While many early users of the application
simply like to point
   to Google and say, "They are smart," there are players
behind the scenes.

   In the case of Google Maps one key player is Telcontar.
The world, at least the mapping one, was agog when Yahoo!
"rolled
   its own" mapping solution, Yahoo! Maps, on the company's
technology back in 2002. So, perhaps it's no surprise that
   Google (and Rand McNally and Ask Jeeves) also have it
tucked into their websites.

   Telcontar's Place in the Value Chain
   To understand Telcontar, take a giant step away from GIS.
No, a bigger step. Ok, good. Now, have a look at the value
   chain for consumer mapping technology. Kim Fennell,
Telcontar President and CEO, outlined five parts of the
chain: content
   (a.k.a. the "data guys" - NAVTEQ, Tele Atlas, etc.),
platform (the software that "processes" the data, where
Telcontar fits),
   application developers (those who make the compelling
offerings we consumer want to buy, Motorola's VIAMOTO, for
   example), channel (the delivery mechanism, a portal like
Yahoo or a wireless carrier) and finally the customer (those
of us
   who pay money via our cell phone bills or generate
revenue-producing advertising via our eyeballs on portals).



   Telcontar sits in that space between the data providers
(in fact it often selects and
   licenses the data from them on behalf of its clients) and
the application developers (in the
   case of Google, Google programmers). The real work
Telcontar technology performs inside
   the various mapping applications is the same: it
organizes and retrieves the data; it
   renders maps; it performs the route calculations and
presents directions; it geocodes.
   Fennell compares Telcontar's role to Oracle's in a real
time transactions application: Every
   one knows that there's an Oracle database underneath, but
no one sees it or thinks much
   about it.

   Distinguishing Technology
   Now, rendering maps and doing geocoding is not rocket
science. Hundreds of companies,
   including the traditional GIS companies, can do it with
their hands tied behind their
   server's backs. So why did Google et. al. select this
small company to power some of the
   most used mapping portals in the world? One word: speed.
Telcontar holds 10 patents
   (and has 21 more applications filed) for technology that
speeds up these spatial
   processes. In particular, Telcontar technology compiles
data in to a single compact,
   efficiently organized proprietary file format (Rich Map
Format, RMF) for quick retrieval.
   NAVTEQ's database for North America in its own format is
40 GB. It's just 4 GB in RMF.
   Says Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Bill
Schwegler, "We can find that needle
   in a haystack the first time you put your hand in."

   Telcontar is the "Intel Inside" of the portal mapping
set. And, says Fennell. the question
   regularly comes up: Why is NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas' name on
the map and not Telcontar's?
   The answer is a legal one: NAVTEQ (and the other data
providers) own a copyright on the
   data which is shown while Tecontar owns patents on its
geospatial technology.

   Second Generation Internet Mapping
   Schwegler is quick to point out that Telcontar is not a
GIS company. It focuses on
   providing a geospatial platform that, once customized,
provides fast answers to large
   numbers of consumer oriented queries. That's not anything
like what traditional GIS
   companies aim to do. As an example, Fennell notes that at
a telco you are very likely to
   find traditional GIS managing infrastructure and helping
to figure out where to place new
   cell towers or telephone poles. But, when it comes to the
products offered to consumers
   for location-based services, an almost completely
different set of company names appear.

   GIS companies might be considered the "zeroth" generation
of online mapping. That is,
   the goal was to print a map. It might be a map that
requires quite a lot of analysis, but
   it's essentially a paper map product. "First generation"
online mapping services, Fennell
   explains, include the MapQuests and MapPoints of the
world. Each offers an outsourced
   service. Companies that don't have the expertise or
energy or need to "roll their own"
   mapping solutions are happy users of such offerings.
That's why when you need to find a
   Marriott or a Starwood hotel, you'll be using MapPoint or
MapQuest services, respectively.
   The mapping is effectively outsourced to Microsoft and
AOL Time Warner. 

   The second generation of online mapping is epitomized by
Yahoo, which three years ago
   determined it unwise to tap into competitor AOL Time
Warner's MapQuest for mapping.
   With technology from Telcontar (and others) it rolled its
own solution with its own look
   and feel, and a quicker response time than the first
generation offerings. The two
   companies are not competitors (Telcontar is not a portal
company and Yahoo! is certainly
   not a mapping company) which makes for better business
relations. Moreover, Yahoo and
   other portals can add on features such as local searches,
traffic, advertising, as needed. 

   The Future and the Past
   Fennell and Schwegler are most excited about the success
the company is having in the
   portal arena. They expect to see more, especially as more
vertical portals come online for
   things like travel, automobile navigation, and real
estate. But they are also looking down
   the road at mobile offerings. They have the technology
today, they note, to provide
   directions via mobile phone faster than in-car solutions.
Unfortunately, the market is not
   quite ready for that.

   I had to ask one historical question, one that'd be
bugging me for a few days. Where did
   the name of the company come from? Telcontar is the name,
in Elfin, of (Aragorn) Strider
   of Lord of the Rings fame. Schwegler's early work was on
a talking map for the blind called
   Strider. That work, which formed the basis of the current
geospatial platform, evolved, and
   the company created from it was named Telcontar.

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