Geospatial data plays a significant role in meeting sustainability needs such as; from supporting critical infrastructure for green transport and electric vehicles to planning renewable energy, and from managing climate change-related risk assessment in case of natural disaster to improving waste collection and recycling.
Great Britain’s National Mapping Agency, Ordnance Survey (OS) has undergone digital transformation to deliver a range of new environmental and location data. It will provide faster and easier access of location data to users across the public and private sectors.
The geospatial industry is expected to grow significantly between now and 2030 as recognition in the value of location data increases. OS is improving the quality, quantity and accessibility of location data by investing in automatic change detection through Artificial Intelligence (AI) which quickly identifies where things have changed. This enables OS to deliver more data faster, with customers benefiting from slicker data capture.
The digital transformation program will allow access to data via the OS Data Hub and provide a personalized experience. It will enable faster and easier access to Britain’s authoritative location data, driving efficiencies and enabling accurate location data to be at the centre of core decision-making, products, and services.
Added New Features
OS National Geographic Database (NGD) contains over half a billion geographical features and is kept up-to-date with 20,000 daily changes. With the ability to create customised data selections, customers will be able to choose relevant data from a simplified data structure, with the potential to speed up processes from a week to a matter of minutes and hours.
OS recently added OS Select+Build and OS NGD API features. It accelerates efficiencies and enables organisations to make critical decisions and implement viable solutions, as well as automate workflows and reduce data management so they can operate more sustainably.
OS Select+Build adds a new download capability to the OS Data Hub that sits alongside OS OpenData, OS Premium products and existing APIs.
OS NGD data structure means that customers can build their own data packages from nine themes including address, buildings, land use, transport, and water. These themes are made up of product-ready data organised into feature types and will allow customers to tailor their data experience to better meet their needs.
John Kimmance, MD of National Mapping Services said, “New technologies and innovations have helped us deliver on a major Public Sector Geospatial Agreement milestone.”
Benefits of OS Data
- OS data is accessible and easier to use with the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA), offering almost 6,000 public sector bodies and organisations access to our high-quality data and services through the OS Data Hub.
- OS location data supports local authorities, central government, emergency services, utility companies, global tech companies and transport and logistics providers. OS data has assisted in improving the country’s roads, railways and broadband coverage, levelling-up communities and regions.
- It has also supported the building of new homes to provide affordable housing and boosted the productivity and sustainability of the UK’s agriculture systems.
Pete Gregory, Building Risk Review (BRR) Project Lead for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue stated; “OS Select & Build will be invaluable in time saved to Fire & Rescue services around the country improving data management and ensuring we are kept up to date with our build stock and can work more efficiently with building owners and residents to ensure their safety”.
OS plans to deliver 70 new data enhancements including building age and building construction material, improved coverage of land use, indicative and average road speeds, and improved consistency of address positioning.
