OSi Trail Master - The Next Step

OSi Trail Master, the popular interactive route planning software for hill-walkers, climbers, cyclists, tourists and outdoor enthusiasts is going online.

The new online service, to be launched in Q4 2008 and run by Star-APIC will provide people with the ability to download maps of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, and in the coming months Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.

The collaborative European project, which is called GeoLives is built upon OSi’s Trail Master route planning software, which is a PC compatible mapping application for the outdoor enthusiast that brings maps to life on screen and allows users to prepare their own personalised trails. In addition an option which provides for the transfer of maps to mobile phones in built upon OSi’s Street Smart mobile phone mapping software.

Once registered on the new website, users will be able to download a free “country starter kit” which includes the new Trail Master/GeoLives software and a free national map and a place name gazetteer. To discover the full functionality of GeoLives users can then select and download a sample of the detailed mapping for the country of their choice.

GeoLives allows you to buy maps from different countries. In order to buy maps or mobile software solutions, you must become a member of the GeoLives and activate your account. Membership starts at €15 and maps for Ireland will be sold at €1 per tile.

The €15 membership fee includes €5 worth of credit to allow you immediately start downloading map data. Each map tile measures 10km x 10km, and users have the freedom of selecting any region they want. When a user purchases data they get access to 1:450,000, 1:210,000 and 1:50,000 scale maps, ortho-photography and digital terrain data.

With this data users will be able to retrieve or create routes, calculate their length and cross section / profile, create points of interest linked to photos and text descriptions, import and export GPS data and print maps on one or more A4 pages. The 3D display uses a digital terrain model to display altitude and cartographic maps. Routes, points of interest and photos can be superimposed to create screen shots, 3D animation and videos.

Currently the OSi Trail Master product range consist of four DVDs that cover selected regions of Ireland. Each DVD contains approximately 8,000 square kilometres of 1:50,000 mapping, aerial photography and Digital Terrain Models and a 1/450 000 scale map of the whole country.

Ends.

For further information please contact: Hugh Mangan on +353 1 8247 516.

Editor’s Note: Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) is the National Mapping Agency for the Republic of Ireland. OSi’s produces a complete range of digital and paper mapping products including urban, rural and tourist & leisure mapping at a variety of scales.

See www.osi.ie for more information.