TomTom Map Share: how & what?

Simultaneously with the introduction of the new GO 520 and GO 720, TomTom announced a entirely new map improvement technology: TomTom Map Share. This new piece of software enables users to adjust navigational maps if they are no longer entirely up-to-date. Those manually made corrections can also be shared with other users, who will receive updates through the TomTom HOME desktop, all entirely free of charge.

Update

At first, only the new GO 520 and GO 720 (shipped with NavCore 7) will be suitable for use with Map Share, but by the end of the third quarter of this year, a software update should also make Map Share available to users of 'older' GO, ONE (XL) and RIDER units.

In anticipation of this release, we delve a bit deeper into this matter, and will try to show how, in the future things will work, if the practice concurs with the theory of course.

Joining

The first time you enter the new 'Map Corrections' menu in TomTom NavCore 7, you will be asked whether you want to join the Map Share community. If you respond affirmatively to this question, from that moment on, every time you connect your PND to TomTom HOME desktop the adjustments you've made to your maps will be uploaded to TomTom, and, if desired, corrections made by other users will be downloaded to your device at the same time. That way, your maps will always have the latest updates.

One important condition for Map Share to function as it is supposed to is of course that users need to upload and register their map corrections. How this will work is still somewhat of a mystery, but suffice it to say that TomTom already receives a lot of notifications of incorrect map data. Up to 15,000 per week!

Map releases

Map Share will be maintained and distributed per Tele Atlas map release. TomTom of course supports the 2007.4 release with which the GO 520 and GO 720 are equipped. During the TomTom event in Cannes last week, TomTom's Technical Development Director Pieter Geelen said that Map Share will also function with 2007.1, TomTom's map update previously released to the general public. The company is still debating whether they will support older map releases as well, and if yes, how far they'll go in time. Considering about 10% of the map data changes annually, it's only logical to assume that a line will have to be drawn somewhere, because the number of errors in (very) old maps will have become so numerous by now, that it would be an impossible task to correct them.

Additionally the good functioning of Map Share will be greatly dependent on the error reporting of the users of a specific map version release. How older maps, with fewer users, will result in a lot less corrections being reported. Of course, it will also be possible to enter your own personal corrections, without needing the shared data of Map Share. No matter how old your map is.

Corrections

In the first version of Map Share, five different sorts of corrections will be possible. These are implemented immediately, but at first only onto your own device. Only after uploading the corrections to TomTom via HOME can they, in a later stage, also become part of the larger corrected database, which is then shared with other users. The possible corrections are currently:

• (un)Block a street
• Reverse driving direction
• Change a street name
• Add a missing Point Of Interest (POI)
• Change a Point Of Interest (POI)

Behind the menu option 'report another error' there are different types of correction which are a lot more complex. Think numerous errors with regards to existing streets and the adding of missing streets and roundabouts here. In this version of the software, these kinds of errors will not be a part of the Map Share download which contains all the corrections from the Map Share users though. TomTom will collect and report these corrections to map supplier Tele Atlas, after which they can be inserted into upcoming map-releases. A spokesperson for the company has however already stated that they are working on implementing the other corrections in an upcoming release of the Map Share software "We aim to release another Map Share version which will enable , for example, the adding of new streets and roundabouts".

Making map corrections is very simple to do on your navigational device. Sometimes a keyboard or option menu will be used, but a lot of the time, the corrections will be made directly onto the map. Eg. when blocking a street, you will need to point out for which driving direction the block is in effect. Another handy feature is that during driving, the location of an error can be pinpointed very quickly. Once back home, the details of the correction can then be entered.

Abuse

An important aspect of Map Share is of course the trustworthiness of the corrections, because it's pretty safe to assume that there will be some jokers out there who will deliberately try to upload some fake corrections. TomTom has taken this into account, and implemented some measures to prevent this. As shown on the screen dump below, with NavCore 7, you'll be able to determine yourself which corrections you want to use.

Of course you can always trust the corrections you've made yourself, and also the corrections made by TomTom. For this the company will not go 'onto the road' itself: alterations are verified by comparing them with data supplied by governments and third parties.

Also pretty safe are the corrections which are uploaded by 'reliable sources'. Because every Map Share participant works via a HOME login, TomTom is able to check who has uploaded which corrections and if they were real. Because of this, persons can be awarded the status 'reliable', and we can assume that correction that are uploaded by these people, are usually correct.

The same is appropriate for alterations which have been reported by many. The chance that an alteration, which has been reported by fifty different individuals, is incorrect, is minimal. The last category 'corrections reported by some' will be the least reliable. If you are looking for certainty, then it might be wise to leave that option unchecked.

Another handy feature is the option of subscribing to certain POI categories. For this, you can use HOME to enter which data is interesting to you. Selecting the option 'corrections to POI I subscribed to' will make sure that only the requested categories will be taken into account on your device.

TomTom HOME

A central role within Map Share is reserved for TomTom's desktop application HOME. All reports, map corrections and personal preferences for POI categories will be entered through this program. TomTom will soon be releasing TomTom HOME version 1.6 in which the new Map Share technology is supported.

TomTom has said they want to be expeditious, and aim for a daily update of Map Share. Hence, it's recommended that you connect your device to HOME on a regular basis.

This doesn't mean however that an uploaded correction through HOME will be available to other participants the next day. Within TomTom, a special team is responsible for Map Share, but even they will require some time to process and check all the uploaded data. Some things can be prioritised though, like corrections on motorways and in densely populated areas. An error which has received a lot of identical reported corrections will also be processed faster.
Because if this, we believe that there will be a normal time frame of a few days up to a few weeks between the time of reporting the error and seeing it corrected in the Map Share download. That's still a whole lot better than the months we now often have to wait until a new map update.

Theory

Of course, all the above is largely based on theory. When the GO 520 and 720 have shipped in reasonable quantities, we'll have a first indication whether everything also functions well in practice. But it won't be until the owners of the 'older' device are allowed to use Map Share, that we will be able to see the true power of the new technology.

A lot will depend on the enthusiasm of the users. We have no doubt that amongst the millions of TomTom users that are currently out there, there are a lot who will embrace and use this technology to it's fullest. As are we sure that amongst those fanatical participants, there will be a lot of yourNAV users.