The national Office for Survey, Mapping, and Cadastre of the Czech Republic has launched new iOS and Android apps that make it simple to find authoritative land information wherever you are. Users from the real estate sector, just one group from the enthusiastic early adopters, predict immediate time savings when assessing properties – thanks to its simplified data access. Below is a translation of a report on the new service by Czech national newspaper E15.cz – published on 28 May 2013.
Access to cadastral maps has become a little more friendly. The Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping, and Cadastre (ČÚZK) has launched a free smart phone app for browsing maps directly in the field.
“Our application is the first one that uses only authoritative map products,” ČÚZK’s Head of Administration of Geospatial Information, Bohumil Vlcek told E15. In so doing, it eliminates the problems faced by current commercial applications, for example to compose information from heterogeneous sources that have varying guarantees of quality.
Enthusiastic users of new applications include, amongst others, real estate agents. “The mobile application is a really positive step because it will allow real estate agents to assess property faster in the field,” said Executive Director of the real estate network RE / MAX, Hanus Nemecek. According to Michael Kresta, Commercial Director of estate agents STING, the applications will help to better estimate how long it will take to prepare properties for sale.
In addition to viewing maps via smartphones, users will also be able to browse and query information about land parcels including determining their precise coordinates. The application also allows users to search by places on the map, by registries and databases of geographic names, administrative boundaries and by address. Using their phones, people will also be able to search through archival maps held by the Central Archives of Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre, which are important for example in the current church restitution proceedings.
The new service can be downloaded for the most widely used smartphone operating systems: Android and iOS. A Windows Phone 8 application is in preparation.
