Ordnance Survey is using the Internet to open new markets for its
maps of the UK, writes Karl Cushing
As part of plans to offer new ways to access its mapping
information, Ordnance Survey has been conducting trials of an
Internet kiosk at the New Forest Visitor Centre in Lyndhurst,
Hampshire.
Customers can use the kiosk, which went live in October, to search
for maps according to postcode or place name and locate specific
areas using pan and zoom facilities. The customised maps can then
be printed off at a cost of £1 for A4 size and £2 for A3 size.
Ordnance Survey's business development manager John Rollin
explains, "This enables people to obtain a map when they want,
where they want it."
Rollin says sales of Ordnance Survey maps have been "static, maybe
in slight decline" in recent years, partly due to the widespread
availability of free map extracts online.
Although customers will have to pay to use the Ordnance Survey
kiosks, Rollin believes they will offer a broader service than
other online map services. "We see business in providing bigger,
better maps and offering different types of mapping," he says. The
Lyndhurst kiosk offers users the chance to get customised
street-level maps, 1:25,000 scale Explorer and Outdoor Leisure
maps, and all-purpose 1:50,000 scale Ranger maps.
The trial has been received "very positively" by users, potential
partners and the media, says Rollin. On average, 20 to 30 users a
day use the kiosk. However, Rollin admits there have been issues
with robustness and usability. "We tried to shoehorn too much
functionality into it," he says. "It could be much simpler and much
better."
Ordnance Survey worked with interactive kiosk firm Avatar and
eMapSite.com, which runs an online distribution portal for digital
mapping. "Both of them were very enthusiastic," says Rollin,
although he adds that working with two separate companies was
sometimes problematic.
The initial trial is now coming to an end and Rollin says Ordnance
Survey will make changes to the kiosk before launching more trials.
The way users search for information will be streamlined and the
number of links to other Web sites will be reduced. Rollin says
that in the future users could download maps onto mobile devices
such as PDAs. Ordnance Survey could also provide services such as
route planning, hotel information and the ability to search by
address.
Although Rollin says the trial has shown him that there is "nothing
very magical about the software side of the kiosks" he still
believes the future role of Ordnance Survey will be as a content
provider. "We would like to look for a return on other people using
our data," he says.