Tele Atlas Corporate Challenge Deploys Team in New Orleans to Assist in Post-Hurricane Katrina Redevelopment

Interchain and Tele Atlas collaborate to create custom data collection solution that uses mobile phones and other GPS-enabled devices to help coordinate disaster relief efforts

Lebanon, NH – December 14, 2007 – Tele Atlas (FSE: TA6, EUNV: TA), a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, today announced a team of employees will be deployed in New Orleans between December 13 and 18 to test a location-based emergency management and disaster assistance solution prototype developed jointly by Tele Atlas engineers and Interchain Solutions Private Limited, a location-based services (LBS) company based in India. As part of the Tele Atlas Challenge program, a bi-annual philanthropic competition for company employees that is designed to encourage the development of innovative applications and projects that leverage map data and technology, the team’s project will be used to collect information on the status of Hurricane Katrina redevelopment efforts to be used in the ongoing Dartmouth College Gentilly Project.

The Tele Atlas Challenge-winning team includes employees Bart Guetti, Thale Jacobs, Peter Jacoby, Jari Reini, Wayne St. Jacques and Clayton Morlock. After winning the Challenge, the team was awarded €10,000 to assist in the development and implementation of the proposed project. The team has invested time and expertise over the past year to prove that mobile phones and similar devices equipped with cameras and GPS functions can help coordinate relief actions after a significant disaster or public emergency.  Through the collaboration with Interchain, application is designed to serve as an easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage solution that leverages cell phone, GPS and web technologies.

“In the time following a natural disaster or public emergency, the availability of location-relevant information is essential to recovery,” states Morlock, Tele Atlas senior engineer and Challenge team leader. “The application we developed through the Challenge is designed to share vital information on damages associated with disasters, such as identifying blocked roads or locations of emergency facilities such as water resources and hospitals, to make it accessible and actionable data for anyone that need it.” 

Members of the team will implement the LBS solution in New Orleans this week working in collaboration with Dr. Quintus Jett, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Digital Strategies at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and his students from Dartmouth College, as well as residents of New Orleans. Together, the group will gather map data for the College’s Gentilly Project, which is assisting Hurricane Katrina redevelopment efforts by assessing the current state of all dwellings in designated neighborhoods by collecting information on their structural status, such as whether they are being rebuilt, are abandoned or are in need of repair. The data will be used by Dr. Jett in his efforts to disseminate information to residents, business owners, nonprofits and others to enhance resource allocation for rebuilding and to accelerate the recovery of neighborhoods.

“Employee volunteerism is an important part of Tele Atlas' global responsibility and our employees are dedicated to supporting our mission to make a meaningful contribution in the various communities where we operate,” said Joanna Nikka, vice president of human resources, Tele Atlas. “Through the innovation, creativity and enthusiasm of our employees, the Challenge Program enables Tele Atlas to further this commitment and to leverage our digital map resources to support this mission.”

About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). The information is the foundation for a wide range of personal and in-car navigation systems and mobile and Internet map applications that help users find the people, places, products, and services they need, wherever they are. The company also works with business partners who trust its digital map data to deliver critical applications for emergency, business, fleet, and infrastructure services. Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and today has approximately 2,500 full-time staff and contract cartographers at offices in 24 countries and uses a sophisticated network of professional drivers, mobile mapping vans, and more than 50,000 data resources to deliver highly accurate and up-to-date digital maps. Tele Atlas is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (TA6) and on Euronext Amsterdam (TA). For more information, visit www. teleatlas.com.

About Interchain

Interchain was founded in 2006 as an organization primarily focused toward providing Location Based Services to the Consumer as well as Enterprise clientele. Interchain has in-house design, development and manufacturing infrastructure in Bangalore and marketing presence in US, Europe and in the Middle East for its Personal Navigation and Fleet Tracking solutions. For more information, visit www.interchainsol.com.