Ordnance Survey releases map data free

[Redrobes]

I noticed that within a minuscule amount of time I can see google links to mirror sites but I wont believe all of this until I have some download on my disk. It still seems too good to be true. Were talking the gov here after all...

Ta for the rep but I am just the messenger really. Whether we can do something useful with the data remains to be seen. I have previously written an app to extract contour lines on maps and try to turn them into DEMs with limited success. Its obvious that the maps were printed with random noise on them to deter this exact purpose. Look at the MUCH improved print quality of maps from the 1970's compared with modern ones... Not exactly in line with printing technology ! I saw a web site once where some PhD guy was extolling his thesis and programs to do this with some images which had most convenient contour lines in them. I mailed and asked a few pertinent questions and got a slightly more honest account of its ability. Basically in the printed form its very hard indeed to get 3D DEM from arbitrary 1:50K or 1:25K map images scanned off of a map. But if they are handing the data out free then maybe there's no reason to do any "selective availability" type stuff on the data any more... maybe. Well we will see shortly I guess.

Still seems too good to be true...

[Redrobes]

Ahh it seems the waters are indeed muddied... To be honest I don't think I understand the full implications of this yet but AFAICT it looks like its being opened up somewhat but in some limited and unspecified licensing manner. Which if you ask me is pretty much par for the course with our gov. Anyway, you read it and see what you think - then post

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04...ing_agreement/

Sounds like post codes are not on the cards tho which gets a mneh out of me cos google can do them. Its being able to host or post OS maps that I want to think about. That and derive data from them to use and post. Personally I agree with the sentiment that there's more to be gained from tax out of new products than the current £20m profits at mo.

[Redrobes]

I know this is a bit of a thread resurrection but I had a link from some place saying that they got some data from ordnance survey opendata pages. Well I just been on there....

OS OpenData products | Business and government | Ordnance Survey

...and its most definitely live now. I think it might have been for some time but I can say this. I have downloaded the whole UK 50m DEM in ascii so the data is open and available now. I am going to spend an hour or two writing the decoder for it and will post a pic or two later on.

But WOW even after the download zip came through I still didn't think it really was the right data but it definitely is the whole UK at 50m spacing. Though you need to abide by the license, that license is quite open including commercial use. Its a lot like CC with share alike and attribution. Amazing work by the OS team to release this.

Edit: Oh yeah I recall where I saw it - you can get the whole UK on minecraft now. I thought for a while they might have had some kind of private deal with them to use the data so was pretty astounded when I realized it was open to all.