GeoSmart (NZ) Ltd is a provider of location-based services, digital mapping data and images for the Oceania area, notably

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. The company is one of only a handful of global companies producing digital maps for use in

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

applications. GeoSmart was acquired by TomTom in 2014. Companies such as

TomTom TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004 ...

and

Navman Established by Sir Peter Maire in 1986 as New Zealand-based Talon Technology, Navman (as the company became known in the 1990s) is a GPS systems company providing stand-alone GPS units, OEM GPS modules, GPS software for Palm handhelds and Pocke ...

, use mapping data from GeoSmart on their popular handheld GPS devices, as do motor manufacturers such as BMW. The company also provides mapping data via web services, with applications such as a website that allows users to send custom invitations that include mapping directions for guests as well as providing the mapping interface on

New Zealand Automobile Association The New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA or AA) is an incorporated society that provides a range of services to its members including free motoring advice, breakdown services, vehicle repairs, driver licensing, driver training, travel maps, ...

website. In 2008, GeoSmart launched the RAPIDcV mapping car, which is an ongoing program to redrive all of New Zealand. This is to enhance the car navigation database used by brands including Navman, TomTom, Nav N Go, Siemens VDO and Horizon. The RAPIDcV (Road attributes,

points of interest A point of interest (POI) is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. An example is a point on the Earth representing the location of the Eiffel Tower, or a point on Mars representing the location of its highest m ...

, imagery data capture vehicle) uses technology to capture the road centreline of all of New Zealand's roads to an accuracy of 0.15 metres. It does this with a number of technologies including

inertial In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called inertial reference frame, inertial frame, inertial space, or Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference that is not undergoing any acceleration. ...

measurement unit (IMU) that uses gyroscopes and

accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acce ...

s. This technology compensates for situations where the traditional

differential GPS Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPSs) supplement and enhance the positional data available from global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). A DGPS for GPS can increase accuracy by about a thousandfold, from approximately to . DGPSs ...

accuracy is lost when the satellite signal is poor, such as behind volcanic hill shadows, dense forest canopies and high rise urban areas. It has a number of cameras on board capturing lane information, street signs, turn restrictions and points of interest to enhance and keep up to date GeoSmart's car navigation and web mapping products. It is also taking a 360 degree

panoramic image A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

every 50 metres. In order to support truck navigation as well as multi mode navigation it is collecting information on the incline and

camber Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles: * Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle * Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings * Camber thrust in bike technology * ...

of each corner, a feature which is used for truck safety warnings in

fleet management system The Fleet Management Systems Interface (FMS) is a standard interface to vehicle data of commercial vehicles. The six European manufacturers Daimler AG, MAN AG, Scania, Volvo (including Renault), DAF Trucks and IVECO developed the so-called FMS-Sta ...

References

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External links

GeoSmart
GIS companies Software companies of New Zealand Companies based in Auckland

See also

References

External links