The Deployment of Integrated Services of 2D/3D Maps and Information for All Types of Devices to Be Enabled!
HI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Meguro-Ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuo Kawabata hereinafter “HI”) announced today that the company has developed a map engine supported by the world first 2D/3D integrated map format “XIP format” (Note 1) formulated by the Navigation System Researchers’ Association (hereinafter “IT Naviken”).
Note 1: XIP format: Abbreviation of “eXchange format for Information Provider”. It is the world first integrated map format that allows both 2D and3D map data to be stored into one format.
Resulting from HI’s technical knowledge of graphics and content and the know-how gained by the involvement in XIP format formulation, the engine consists of the 2-independent elements: the functionality to render a XIP based map and the functionality to integrate the map and content. The engine has the following features:
-- The map engine is enabled to run through various content on the device into which the engine is already embedded
-- Rendering is enabled without the dependence of map data by a specific map vender (conversely, it allows service providers to select appropriate map data such as a detailed map and/or a map with more supplementary information (buildings etc.) depending on the service used).
-- A full-software engine exists, which allows the display of a 2D + 3D combined map such as 3D building images placed on the rotatable and scalable 2D map (full 3D rendering is possible if the engine is interacted with the graphic accelerator).
The engine also supports GPS, which has been embedded into mobile phones and PDAs lately, thus allowing the combining of various services with a map, content, and location information through GPS, such as restaurant/traffic/sightseeing information and treasure-hunting games using the existing town maps can be deployed. In addition, map information such as an indoor map will be available. This has not been provided before.
Each content can be developed using MAP API. (Note 2) HI provides developing environments such as MAP API and the XIP converter for developing map services.
Note 2: API: Abbreviation of “Application Programming Interface”, the interface by which an application program accesses features such as file/window/image/character controls invoked through a software package and is provided for OS and programming languages. It is usually provided as a set of functions.
HI greatly expects that this engine, which has been long desired by map content providers, will lead to the creation of new services.
Source: HI Corporation
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