Bern/Bonn, September 7, 2011 – The geodata portal of the Swiss Confederation is popular: the map viewer alone on map.geo.admin.ch counts up to 10,000 users daily. Citizens can use it to view, print, and order geodata. Since the beginning of September 2011, this high-quality data can also be used on mobile devices (smartphones). The web-based solution “mobile.map.geo.admin” works on both Android devices and iPhones and iPads.
Access is simple and uncomplicated
The Swiss Confederation, together with cantons, cities, universities and private individuals, developed the basis for mobile.map.geo.admin.ch, the geodata offer for mobile devices. The company terrestris GmbH & Co. KG from Bonn was commissioned with the implementation of this web client based on OpenLayers and SenchaTouch, which is made available as open source software. Users of mobile.map.geo.admin.ch do not have to download any additional software and do not need a login or password. With this offer, the Swiss Federal Administration is fulfilling its mandate to make geodata accessible to a broad public, as required by the Swiss Geoinformation Act. http://mobile.map.geo.admin.ch is available with immediate effect: if you enter the URL on your mobile device, you will automatically be taken to the mobile version of the map viewer.
Practical information on the spot
Geodata from the Swiss Confederation are mostly official in character and of high quality, documented by the «Eidgenossenschaft» seal of quality. Historical map material is also available, so that users can, for example, find out on the spot whether they are on a historical traffic route or retrieve information about historical buildings in their field of vision. It is also possible to search for municipalities, localities, water bodies or mountains (“Which mountain is that?”). Further information is available on hazard zones (“Am I in a hazard zone here?”), nature reserves (“Is this an amphibian spawning area?”) and urban and settlement development (“What did it look like here 100 years ago?”).
The following functions are also available:
- Address search (current addresses as well as buildings under construction)
- Search for place and field names
- Feedback function with which corrections of data contents can be reported (e.g. hiking trails that do not run as indicated, or incorrect building addresses including the correct address.)
Ad-free and available in the long term
The Confederation’s geoportal, including the mobile map viewer, is operated by the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo on behalf of the Coordination Body for Geoinformation of the Confederation. Third parties do not have access to user data, and long-term availability is guaranteed in the future. The offer is ad-free and only available online: data cannot be stored locally, as costs would otherwise have to be charged for licensing reasons. The use of mobile.map.geo.admin is free of charge (apart from the internet connection). At the same time, an API programming interface is also made freely available, for example for developers and companies who want to use data for their own applications.
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About swisstopo
The Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo) is the Swiss Confederation’s centre of excellence for geoinformation, i.e. for the description, representation and archiving of spatial geodata (e.g. national maps, elevation and landscape models, satellite images, orthophotos).
swisstopo surveys Switzerland, collects and documents changes in the landscape (geological, geodetic and topographic) and produces maps of Switzerland. The national maps (paper and digital) in various scales are regularly updated and published. Thanks to their quality and accuracy, they enjoy a high reputation in Switzerland and worldwide. In cooperation with the Confederation, cantons, municipalities and the private sector, swisstopo makes geodata available for broad use. The Geoinformation Act (GeoIG) forms the legal basis for this. As the supervisory authority, swisstopo is responsible for all matters relating to official surveying and public-law restrictions on ownership (ÖREB cadastre).
swisstopo was founded in 1838 and today belongs to the armasuisse Group in the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS). The modern production facility with 320 employees is located in Wabern near Bern.
About terrestris
terrestris is a geoinformatics company from Bonn and originally a spin-off from the University of Bonn. Since 2002, terrestris has been active in the conception, implementation and maintenance of geodata infrastructures and geoportals using open source software such as PostGIS, OpenLayers and GeoServer. One focus is on real-time geodata acquisition for environmental monitoring. Wireless sensor networks are used for this purpose and their data is displayed in a WebGIS environment. terrestris’ customers include the federal states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Baden-Württemberg, the TÜV Rheinland Group, the University of Copenhagen, the Jülich Research Centre and, in addition to other customers, various municipalities. The company terrestris has successfully carried out projects in the Middle East (Qatar), Africa (Benin) and Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Denmark) and is currently involved in a hydrological research project in Asia (Mongolia).
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Press contact
Dipl.-Geogr. Hinrich Paulsen
terrestris GmbH & Co. KG
Irmintrudisstr. 17
53111 Bonn
0228 – 962 899 51
info@terrestris.de
www.terrestris.de
