Leading GIS companies license innovative mapping, navigation & information software

 
Augmentra, the Cambridge-based mobile digital mapping and information software company, has signed a deal that will put their DataRanger technology into the phone handsets of users from Dublin to Dubrovnik. The contract is with Geolives, a joint venture between STAR-APIC Group, the foremost European supplier of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and mapping software, and Geomatic Ingénierie SA, a Swiss GIS specialist, and part of the Ringier AG media and publishing group.
 
"Augmentra's application platform offers a wide set of features and its reliability has been proven in the market," said Thierry Pilet, CEO of Geomatic Ingénierie SA and CTO of Geolives.  "Augmentra were rapidly able to build the Geolives Symbian Mobile application, integrate it with our web services, and deliver it in four languages."
 
The Geolives deal further establishes Augmentra's DataRanger technology as the leading off-road mapping, navigation, and information platform for the Symbian mobile software environment. "We are delighted to be involved in this Pan-European initiative," said Craig Wareham, Augmentra co-founder. "This deal will allow consumers and professionals across Europe to take advantage of the rich functionality available in our mobile application platform as part of the Geolives software suite. It will also provide users of our ViewRanger `off-road sat nav' software with access to the mapping offered by Geolives."
 
DataRanger allows content such as maps to be stored on a user's mobile phone, held remotely on a server for over-the-air access, or both. Points of Interest, routes, text, photos, and audio and video information can be added as layers on the maps to give even greater functionality, and sport-GPS and Buddy tracking functionality is also included. DataRanger is compatible with a range of handsets including those manufactured by Nokia and Samsung.
 
"Geolives users can select specific map areas on a PC and then take them into the field on a mobile phone. GPS-enabled handsets will show a dynamic map display with the user's location clearly marked. Easy download of maps and data over-the-air direct to their handset will allow users to access maps instantly, wherever they may be," said Craig Wareham.
 
"We are thrilled to see how the different strands of the technology have come together to create this simple, effective solution."
 
Geolives is launching in Spring 2008 with topographic mapping and data at various map scales for a range of European countries including France, Belgium and Switzerland. Geolives builds on Star-Apic's and Geomatic's extensive experience with professional GIS and consumer mapping tools - between them they have over 500 B2B clients and 200,000 consumer customers in Europe.
 
The DataRanger technology platform has already been used by Ordnance Survey Ireland for their StreetSmart Guide to Dublin, and by AA Publishing for their AA Smart TravelGuide series. It also underpins Augmentra's ViewRanger suite of GPS-enabled digital products, which bring highly detailed topographic maps (including Ordnance Survey maps) to outdoor activity enthusiasts via their mobile smartphone handsets.
 
About Augmentra Ltd www.augmentra.com
Augmentra is a specialist in location-based mapping, navigation and information solutions for smart mobile devices. It delivers innovative solutions that exploit the potential offered by the convergence of mobile phone, imaging and GPS technologies. It is focussed on the outdoor activity, leisure and travel markets.
 
Augmentra is a licensed partner of Ordnance Survey, National Land Survey of Finland, and AA Publishing, and is partnered with Forum Nokia and Symbian Signed.
 
About STAR-APIC www.star-apic.com
Founded in 1983, the STAR-APIC Group has become a major supplier of software and solutions in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) and business applications for water and electricity networks management, local authorities and national administrations. STAR-APIC has Operations Centres in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Morocco.
 
About Geomatic Ingénierie SA
Geomatic Ingénierie SA is a specialist in GIS and the leading provider of digital mapping and software for Switzerland.  It is part of Ringier AG, a pan-European media group and largest publisher in Switzerland.