14 april 2005

Navteq on geocoding

INFORMATION CAN ONLY BE PLACED ON A MAP IF THE LOCATION IS KNOWN. GEOCODING IS A WAY OF PINPOINTING AN ADDRESS’S LOCATION USING LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES AND DISPLAYING THEM ON MAPS.
It’s estimated that 80 per cent of all data contains a spatial reference.
Using NAVTEQ maps, organisations use geocoding to merge data from information providers to interrogate address-based information and coordinates, with or without navigable attributes, and can also provide data for geocoding only.
“In most cases, the geocoding process links databases containing address information on to the map through either address ranges or postcodes,” said Ian Prentice, sales manager UK and Ireland, Business Solutions, NAVTEQ.
“Linking address databases to the map allows spatial analysis to be performed. You can
also link and analyse with other associated database information.”
Retailers, for example, can find out where most of their customers live or how far they
travel to a store. Reverse geocoding is a method of taking latitude and longitude coordinates and identifying the street they relate to. An example of reverse geocoding is tracking applications, where the location of a stolen vehicle can be identified so the police can be sent to the street or property.
From Turning Point Spring 2005

www.navteq-connections.com