From Open Source Mapping To Improving Your Car's GPS: The Future Of 3D Navigation

Having a built-in navigation system in your new car is pretty commonplace now (that is, if you want to pay for it). These days many new car owners can just type in the address of where they want to go in to their in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system and a 2D map will pop up with some simple graphics showing them how to get there, or possibly a 3D map if you have a luxury vehicle that offers it.

But how is that 3D mapping data collected and updated? And who can access it? Marek Strassenburg-Kleciak is one of the key people behind collected 3D mapping data for OpenStreetMap (OSM), which has been billed as the Wikipedia of maps. As the senior manager for new business development at Elektrobit Automotive, one of the things he loves most about his work is putting technology visions into practice.

Strassenburg-Kleciak will be speaking at the Automotive Linux Summit this week in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing insight into OSM and the new 3D data collection efforts. In this interview, he tells us how he went from studying architecture to becoming an international expert in 3D data collection, why he believes in open source mapping, the benefits of 3D maps for navigation, and more.