See how TomTom Orbis Maps is ready for the future you want to build

Transport infrastructure is a central feature of any map. So, it’s no surprise the Overture Foundation, with the exclusive help of TomTom, is developing its own data set of the world’s roads – what it calls its transportation layer. We looked at what TomTom is doing to create the Overture transportation layer and what it means for the project.

Today, the world of global logistics would be nothing without the shipping container. The simple steel box revolutionized how goods are moved between continents and across oceans. Despite its simplicity, it's one of the most significant inventions ever — it also makes a great metaphor for the state of modern, global digital mapmaking.

Collaboration is the guiding principle behind the twenty-year success of OpenStreetMap. It’s this fundamental concept that allows OSM’s communities to simultaneously use and make maps. This approach to modern mapmaking was a core theme at ‘State of the Map’ 2023 conference, in Antwerp, Belgium.

Earlier this month, TomTom lifted the lid on its game-changing approach to build a new mapping and geolocation data ecosystem, the TomTom Orbis Maps. Data will be key to its success, and while the company already has more than 30 years’ worth of global location data, it’s not resting on its laurels. The Dutch mapmaker is instead taking data sourcing to new heights with what it calls “super sources.” But what are they?