OpenLR™ - Newsletter
The OpenLR™ newsletter informs about news, changes and the latest updates. The subscription to
the newsletter is free.
Earlier newsletters are listed below:
-
Dear OpenLR follower,
A new software version 1.2.1 has been released today August, 4th including a
new physical format datex2, a new tool for format conversion and an updated
version of the map viewer tool.
The datex2 package consists of classes for reading and writing Datex II xml
location reference data. This package implements a schema as described on the
Datex II website (http://www.datex2.eu/content/openlr-extension-10).
The Physical Format Converter can be used to convert an OpenLR physical format
into another OpenLR physical format. This tool provides a mechanism to convert
e.g. a binary location reference into an XML location reference. This tool
suppports the physical formats binary, binary (Base64-encoded), XML, and Datex2.
The updated version of the Map Viewer tool now supports point locations and offsets.
It is also possible to take screenshots and to store and load locations in a map-
dependent format. The user can decode location references stored in one of the
supported physical formats and the search has been extended by road name search.
The following OpenLR packages have been updated:
- openlr
- data
- map
- encoder
- decoder
- binary
- XML
- datex2
- BinaryDataViewer
- MapViewer
- PhysFormatConverter
All packages are available for download and Maven access from the OpenLR
website at http://www.openlr.org.
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR follower,
The new software reference implementation of the OpenLR method has been
released today, July 14th. The new version 1.2.0 adds point location
support and corresponds to the already published white paper version 1.3.
The following OpenLR packages have been updated:
- openlr
- data
- map
- encoder
- decoder
- binary
- XML
- BinaryDataViewer
In addition the map access layer provided by Tele Atlas also has been
updated to support the new version. All packages are available for download
and Maven access from the OpenLR website at http://www.openlr.org.
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR follower,
TomTom (http://www.tomtom.com) and the German Aerospace Center
(DLR, http://www.dlr.de) have agreed on developing a support for
area locations for the OpenLR technology.
This coming extension forms the next step of the OpenLR method
in order to provide support for various types of locations including
the already existing support for point and line locations. The
extension of OpenLR enables a wider use of the technology for various
markets.
Those who express an interest in area locations are invited to
send any comments or proposals to technical@openlr.org. Any further
comments on the OpenLR technology are also welcome.
First results of the area location development are expected to be
published later this year.
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR follower,
the OpenLR method continues to be developed and it has been extended to handle point
locations. In this context it has also been introduced a new offset imlementation.
The extensions and improvements are outlined in the version 1.3 of the OpenLR white
paper document.
Point locations are zero-dimensional elements in a map that specify a geometric location.
At least one coordinate pair specifies a point location. OpenLR defines three different point
location types to handle most of the existing real-world examples. A "GeoCoordinate"
is a simple pair for coordinates, a "PointAlongLine" defines a location on or besides
a road element and a "PoiWithAccessPoint" stands for a point of interest (poi) as a
coordinate pair and an access point to that poi identified on a road element.
The new offset implementation improves the accuarcy of the placement of offsets along a road
element. The former approach tended to be inaccurate in some instances. The new implementation
overcomes this drawback and provides a flexible method to encode offset information.
The new white paper document version 1.3 can be downloaded from the OpenLR website at
http://www.openlr.org. A new software reference implementation corresponding to the latest
white paper will follow soon.
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR follower,
The OpenLR method continues to be developed. It will be extended to handle point
locations and in this context it will also introduce a new offset imlementation.
Point locations are currently missing and cannot be handled sufficiently. The
current offset implementation in the binary data format has also some drawbacks
when it is needed to specify very short distances. Both drawbacks will be removed
in the upcoming version.
A document, ready for download at http://www.openlr.org, summarizes the extension
of the current OpenLR method with point locations and better offsets. The
requirements for point locations will be explained and several supported types of
point locations will be outlined. A new physical format implementation including
a new format for offsets will be introduced. The document is a DRAFT and is
subject to change.
To emphasize the open source model of OpenLR we kindly ask everyone to comment on
the draft document. Please make use of the forum or send us an email to
technical@openlr.org.
With kind regards,
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR followers,
the OpenLR software implementation has been released in version 1.1.0
today, February 1st. Furthermore the OpenLR whitepaper has been updated
to version 1.2 and a new tool "MapViewer" has been published.
The new OpenLR reference implementation is now able to generate and read
location references in an XML format, which is supported next to the
well-known binary format. Users can now choose between these two
physical encodings for OpenLR.
The whitepaper has been aligned with the reference implementation and describes
the new XML format in detail. The example given in the whitepaper has been
updated and shows the location reference also in the XML format.
The new tool "MapViewer" can visualize a map based on the OpenLR map interface.
The user is able to do basic map operations like zooming and moving. It is also
very easy to select a line location within the map and encode it. Encoded location
references can also be decoded and visualized in the map.
Tele Atlas also updated the map implementation to the new OpenLR version and
they provide a map loader implementation being used to view the Tele Atlas
test map in the MapViewer tool.
The OpenLR team
-
Dear OpenLR followers,
the OpenLR white paper has been updated. The version 1.1 includes
the errata list from the previous version and also the following
list of changes:
- Note added for physical format version number (section 4.5.1)
- Section 3.4, Rule-4: U-turn nodes are also valid nodes;
invalid nodes might be chosen exceptionally if no other possibility exists
- Encoding steps, Step 1: turn restrictions are optional (section 7.1)
- Encoding steps, Step 9: explanation how to deal with lines longer
than 15km (section 7.1)
- Decoding steps, Step 3: find candidate lines directly if no candidate nodes
can be found (section 8.1)
- Decoding steps, Step 4: LRP attributes may vary between encoder and decoder
map so that values don't need to match exactly (section 8.1)
- Decoding steps, Step 5: explanation how to deal with a situation where start
and end line are equal; retrying other candidate line pairs if no valid
shortest-path can be determined (section 8.1)
- Explanation added for handling of prohibited turns in decoding
example (section 9.2)
The OpenLR team
-
The OpenLR team announces that the utility tool "OpenLR Binary Data Viewer" has been
launched today, November 23, 2009.
The "OpenLR Binary Data Viewer" is able to look into binary location references and
to generate a human-readable version of the binary information. The tool can
read binary location references as well as Base64-encoded location references
and the output format can be customized by the user.
The tool is licensed under an extended version of the GPLv2 and can be
downloaded at http://www.openlr.org/tools.html.
-
Dear OpenLR followers,
OpenLR, the open, compact and royalty-free dynamic location referencing has
launched its Open Source project site today, November 9, 2009.
At http://www.openlr.org you can find the open source
reference implementation of the OpenLR method and a lot of downloadable
material to learn about OpenLR. Documentation includes a technical white paper
and an introductive presentation. Tele Atlas B.V. also provides free map
samples and examples so that you are able to immediately test OpenLR on your own.
The open source software is made available both as a normal download and - if you
are using Maven as your software management tool - as directly accessible & always
latest packages from our server. Additionally the web site offers an issue tracker
where you can report and track issues with the software. This is complemented
further by a forum where all topics around location referencing in general and
OpenLR in particular can be discussed.
We would like to invite you to visit the Open Source project at http://www.openlr.org
and to contribute to OpenLR in order to make it an open, validated and successful
dynamic location referencing method.
