Following the success of the OS OpenSpace SDK for iOS, Ordnance Survey has announced the launch of its Android version.
The new free mapping software development kit (SDK) enables developers to quickly and easily add detailed Ordnance Survey maps to mobile applications, with its launch further cementing the prominence of location-based mobile applications in the smartphone market.
The powerful and fast SDK provides a number of significant benefits for both the developer and the end users, including quick rendering and offline mapping, meaning that apps can still function even without a mobile signal.
When asked why a developer would opt for an Ordnance Survey map over other online mapping providers in an application, John Abbott, Head of Access and Services at Ordnance Survey said: “It’s not only the accuracy and trust which Ordnance Survey as a brand offers, but its unrivalled detail. The content on offer between roads, for example, is invaluable for outdoor use as well as height data, gradient and pubic rights of way.”
The SDK automatically enables access to the range of high quality datasets available within the OS OpenSpace, OS OpenSpace Pro and OS OnDemand WMTS API. Developers using the SDK are able to create exciting apps with the highest quality mapping data for Great Britain. Accessible products include overview mapping for Great Britain, street-level mapping featuring detailed building property boundaries and accurate road networks, vector based mid-scale mapping and the popular and trusted, outdoor mapping product, OS Landranger Maps (1: 50 000 scale), featuring national parks, tracks, paths and fields.
By accessing OS OpenSpace and OS OnDemand through the new SDK, developers can easily select which products are displayed within their applications. The SDK also enables developers to access a range of features, which can be used to further enhance the mapping within the applications. Some of the key features include :
The OS OpenSpace SDK for Android is flexible and enables developers to access Ordnance Survey’s web services to create great apps using detailed mapping data. Developers can reuse the SDK code to create apps with other datasets, as well as have compatibility with other SDKs. With the new SDK it is very straightforward to migrate from MapKit to the Ordnance Survey API with only a few changes to your application required.
To find out more information on the new OS OpenSpace SDK for Android visit: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/products/os-openspace/android-sdk.html
Ordnance Survey’s launch tops a busy week for the app industry with Apps World at Earls Court, London on 22 – 23 October (www.apps-world.net) and Droidcon, the UK’s biggest Android conference on 24 – 27 October (uk.droidcon.com) at Business Design Centre in Islington. The national mapping authority will be at both events for developers to find out more about what’s available to them.
