NAVTEQ has just released new 3D city models for Europe. The new map products add textures and colors to cityscapes, and emphasize flexibility in how the data can be used by developers.
This new product is extremely flexible, enabling navigable 3D animation to be generated in real-time. For example, buildings in the foreground can be made transparent, while leaving texture detail only on the corner of the next manoeuvre. It provides system developers with a wide range of customisation options on functions such as texture and camera perspective which can be used to create differentiation between products and brands.
The competition for developers and users of rich navigation experiences means that the quality of map data for navigation and point of interest are ever increasing. This developer-centric focus points to the limits of data providers to control the experience themselves as they rely on device and application developers to make the most of the raw products that they provide. We can expect more realism, and more variety in data products as these markets continue to mature.
