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FAQs /
Rich Map Engine
A spatial format organizes data in a multi-dimension fashion such that features near each other in reality get stored close together in the database.This means that once you find an item in a spatially formatted dataset, you can quickly find other items close by. There are many other ways to organize data, such as sequentially or in layers. A spatial query asks a question involving the geographic relation of two or more items. Examples are "What map features fall within a given area", "What is the fastest route from point A to point B", and "Where is the closest (restaurant, gas station, bank, etc.)" deCarta’s spatially oriented RMF (Rich Map Format) makes it easy to answer these kinds of questions and many more. What is RMF?RMF is deCarta’s proprietary and patented data format. It is a highly compact, binary format optimized for spatial query processing and lies at the heart of deCarta technology. deCarta’s products, the Drill Down Server (DDS) and Rich Map EngineTM (RME), take full advantage of this format to generate map images, create routes, and perform a multitude of other functions.Why do I have to use RMF? RMF is specifically designed for location-based services and deCarta’s products utilize RMF exclusively. Some of the advantages of deCarta technology derive from the optimized RMF in combination with the unparalleled speed and flexibility of the Drill Down ServerTM.How big is an RMF file? An RMF file is typically 1/5th to 1/10th the original size. For example, a 100GB GDF file ends up as a 10GB to 20GB RMF file. This includes all of the indices as well. The data is still there. It just has had all of the empty space squeezed out of it. Then the information is compacted further by removing redundancies, efficiently encoding it, and then converting it to a binary format. You obviously must be running some sort of compression scheme. Does uncompressing slow response times?First, RMF is not compressed but compacted. Compact data is available for use as is. The compact data results in faster response times without loss of information or the need to uncompress it. What map datasets are available? deCarta supports map datasets from three major map providers: Automotive Navigation Data (AND), NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas (TA). Some vendors produce multiple formats of their data and deCarta has chosen to support a limited set of them. Table 1 highlights the formats and coverage areas deCarta supports today: Table 1 Available Datasets
Can I use multiple datasets?
If the dataset you want is on our product roadmap, for a fee deCarta will accelerate the schedule if possible. If the dataset is not on our roadmap, deCarta will work with you on a professional services basis to build the Data Translation Toolkit. A third option is for you to build a translator yourself. A number of our customers have very specific data needs and have chosen to do the work themselves. I understand that my map dataset has to be in RMF, but do all my data have to be in RMF? No, you may use specific data outside of the RMF. This is yet another advantage to using deCarta. Our technology allows you to store and access points-of-interest or other data from a relational database like IBM’s DB2 or Oracle’s 9i. deCarta’s Traffic ManagerTM also accepts traffic flow and incident data in non-RMF.What is a Data Translation Toolkit? A Data Translation Toolkit is a set of tools used to convert a dataset from its original format into RMF as well as generate all of the appropriate indices. A toolkit consists of a translator, index builders, and scripts for ease of use. Can I use map data from another vendor if it is in one of the formats you support? The design of our Data Translation Toolkits corresponds specifically to a particular data vendor’s format. Therefore, your substitute dataset must match the exact record layout and file structure of one of our supported formats. In addition, the file must also have similar content in the same fields. For instance, Navigation Technologies and Tele Atlas both produce their datasets in GDF format, but a Data Translation Toolkit for one will not work on the other. How long does this "translation" take and do I have to do this work every time there is a new delivery from the data vendor? Translation times vary based on the complexity of the format and the size of the source data. It can be as quick as one day or as long as three weeks. As an example, it takes about a week and a half to process a Western European dataset. The work does have to be done each time you want to update your map data, but deCarta offers a compilation service where you receive the data in RMF. deCarta’s compilation service will deliver complete RMF datasets with the same frequency as the data vendors release the data. Navigation Technologies releases their data four times per year. With our compilation services, you would also receive this same data four times per year but in RMF. What does it mean when you say "translate"?RMF, like all other map formats, is similar to a natural language in that it proscribes what information goes where. Since the source dataset is not already in RMF, deCarta must "translate" that source dataset into RMF. It is also important to note that just like a natural language, some of the subtleties of the original dataset may be lost in the translation. In Table 2, Vendor A has chosen to represent speed as a range of available speeds. Vendor B has chosen to represent speed as the posted, legal limit. In both cases, deCarta has chosen to represent speed as the average speed (rounded to the nearest multiple of 5). Table 2 Speed Attribute
What fields do you
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