Amit Sinha
Deputy General Manager, Eicher Goodearth Ltd. New Delhi
[email protected]
Essentially an automotive major with interests in manufacturing Tractors, Commercial Vehicles, Motorcycles, and Automotive Components, and an annual turnover of approximately Rs 950 crores, Eicher first made its foray into maps in 1996, with hard copy publications of the City Map of Delhi.
In a relatively short span of time, Eicher Maps acquired a reputation for accuracy and detail, leading to Eicher’s entry into the GIS arena in Nov 2000, with the requisite clearance from the Ministry of Defence for the sale of digital data for Delhi.
As a logical extension ,the expertise garnered while creating the Delhi Map , is currently being deployed in creating maps for the cities of Mumbai , Chennai , Bangalore and Kolkata .These are in various stages of completion.
GIS and Mapping Services are now full time business initiatives at Eicher.
Future applications of Eicher GIS data include services and solutions enabling infrastructure layout and facility management, fleet management, wireless applications , web mapping etc., to name a few. We believe that the nascent GIS market in India is poised for a take off in the arena of value added applications .
Internet Mapping
Internet mapping is a logical extension to our core business of map making .Unlike others , we use database created by Eicher which is highly accurate and detailed . This is also backed by a continuous mapping cycle throughout the year making the data actually dynamic.
“Eicher Maps” is committed to providing the best internet mapping services for all kinds of websites and internet users. Websites do not need to invest in buying and maintaining specialized software and spatial data or hiring specialised GIS staff. Instead, the services will run directly from Eicher’s servers using specialized software and applications and our own highly detailed and accurate data .This is backed by a 24X7 support from a qualified team of professionals in the GIS as well as application development arena.
Efforts are on in creating a service that is defined by user needs and not governed by software. Services are being developed to allow greater flexibility for individual websites/customers such that they can define numerous variables, and offer varying levels of functionality to their users.
Data is the key to success
Data Accuracy
At Eicher, we take a very thorough approach to our data creation and updating. We use the best and most recent satellite imagery and the best software’s to start the process of data creation. We then use multiple auxiliary data sources and the most detailed and extensive ground surveys to check the validity of the data and to add further geographic and related attribute data. Road angles and widths, turn restrictions, road names, house numbers, points of interest such as restaurants, taxi stands, milk booths, chemists, cyber cafes – and their exact physical location and other details are collected. All the details are then continually verified and updated on the map through a rigorous process. The importance of extensive physical ground survey for map creation and updating cannot be over emphasized, as this is really what brings integrity and detail to the final map products and services.
Data structuring
Our spatial database has also been structured in a very robust manner such that it is future-friendly. It provides for the incorporation of various details that are not currently defined or available such as heights of buildings, real-time traffic etc.,.
Future Plans
World over , robustness , focus , depth of data , accuracy of data , clear legal titles and quality of service are becoming the key operative words rather than a ‘First off” advantage in the internet mapping arena. With this in mind , we have been putting our map site showcasing Delhi data through a lot of High tensile testing . The learning’s from this shall be chanellised into creating robust customer oriented services for the 4 other cities in Phase 1 and 10 cities in Phase 2.
